Fearless 37: Return
by FGaia13
Summary: I am powerful. I am graceful. I am angry. I am pure. I am raw. I am alone. I am Gaia. I am back. UPDATED JANUARY 7th, 2013. visit fearless 37 . webs . com
1. DISCLAIMER

_**DISCLAIMER**_

I am not Francine Pascal, I am merely a fan that loves the series, and sees it continue through my own imagination.

I personally love the story line of "_Fearless_" and it's original characters, my fan fiction completely dismisses the storyline from Super Edition #2: _Gaia Abducted_.

Characters that had been introduced from Book #20 _Sex_ and on will probably not appear in my fan fiction or will ever be mentioned.


	2. Chapter 1 The Gaia Moore Call

Chapter 1

Gaia Moore sat starring at the ceiling, it had been a month since she had been put on vacation from the FBI, it had been a month since she had solved her career-breaking case, it had been a month since a person she cared about died, it had been a month since she had felt betrayed, and it had been a month since she had called Ed Fargo. Gaia felt her stomach churn, nothing was right anymore, nothing would ever be right. She needed someone, she was always alone and she knew from her FBI training that normal life simulation was needed in the line of work. That basically meant that if she kept trailing off by herself, alone, and pretty much be what she pushes herself to be, a loner, then she was going to be alone, always and forever and she would eventually die alone.

The only person she knew that still cared about her was her father, and he could be out there somewhere, thinking about her too. She knew that she was becoming exactly like him, working for agencies that threatened every-day life and kept her from living a normal one. But Gaia knew that even if she left the Bureau she would never be able to do anything that felt right and maybe she realized now that she understood her father, and that re-connecting with him was what her life's work was adding up to, that was the huge climax in her life that she now understood would come. And maybe that's why her father put up with life, because he knew that one day she would understand that they were doing what would only feel right to do.

So that was the reason she had called him…. And by him she meant her father, because after calling Ed Fargo and announcing who she was, Ed hung up the phone and she didn't call back. She knew that he probably hung up because he knew that she was trouble, or maybe he thought she needed help and didn't want anything to do with her anyways. Whatever his brain concluded from her call, he had obviously decided that he didn't want to talk to her even though they had been great friends. So after taking a moment or two to realize that re-connecting with Ed Fargo was a bad idea, she called the CIA and demanded to know where Thomas Moore was. They had denied that such an agent by the name even worked in the agency, which made her get off her butt and go to Langley and find out where her father was, and it turns out that one of her fathers' mentors Agent Rodriguez was still in the agency. When she showed up in the building no doubt that security managed to recognize her as some sort of possible threat because they took her underground and asked her questions that only she would know. She found the test consuming and a little disappointing, if the questions had answers that only she would know, then why did the CIA know them? And if the CIA knew classified information about her, then surely other top secret organizations knew equal information as well, which proved the test of identification a little pointless.

She talked to Agent Rodriguez and he confided to her that her father was taking a break from a consuming case that had stressed him to the point where he had to be terminated from location, which in other terms meant that her father had to be killed and now he was laying low for a while.

"How long until I can see him?" She remembered asking, her voice actually full of concern.

"You know that information is classified Agent Moore," Rodriguez said to her, she nodded in agreement.

"But we'll give you a call when he can emerge," Rodriguez added, she looked in his eyes and knew that he meant it. "You know I've known your father for a long time, he's sacrificed more than the rest of us, and I _want_ you to know that, and I also want to let you know that I feel close to you, because not only do you have your father's eyes, but you're everything he's every worked for."

And with that Rodriguez had left her alone and lost, she appreciated that he thought of her fondly, and she knew that he would help her out. But in her father's best interests he needed to be dead, a visit from Gaia Moore to a strange location could spike the surveillance of unknown terrorists.

But it had been earlier in the day around four o'clock when Agent Rodriguez showed up at her door, and confided in her personally that her father was staying in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

Gaia had packed several bags, and was taking a good nights' rest before she began her journey north to Cherry Hill. But it was already eleven thirty and she couldn't sleep, maybe it was the anticipation of meeting with her dad, after all she hadn't spoken to him since graduation which had turned out to be a little overwhelming for everyone. Finally she turned off her light and drifted off to sleep….

Ed Fargo was bored, it was a term that he didn't use often, whether or not he was actually doing anything, his mind was usually at top speed thinking about work, college, his parents, his sister and her current divorce proceedings. Life was tough without him having to think about the strange Gaia Moore call he had received a month before, he had used that term too much already, the Gaia Moore call, it was beginning to consume him. He had once called this type of thinking the Gaia Flu, in which Gaia Moore invoked his thoughts all day everyday and then he wouldn't be able to think of anything else. And what was worse was that he was actually on his way to meet his girlfriend, while he was obsessing about his old _ex-girlfriend._ Life was becoming extremely elaborate for him.

But he couldn't help it; everywhere he went he thought of Gaia, he was actually going down the stairs of a subway in which he had almost fallen down into (back when his legs didn't work) during a heated argument with Gaia. But then Gaia turned back to save his life from bruises and they both admitted to each other that they loved each other, kind of, as friends of course.

He turned back to look at the top of the stairs, there he had been almost about to trample down with his chair before Gaia pulled him to safety. He turned and jumped inside the doors before they closed, and then he remembered again when he couldn't take the subway, and he remembered when Mary and Gaia ditched him to play truth or dare. He had been really mad then, but now he smiled, he would do anything to have that back again.

But he would never be able to have that back again, but back to the call, Gaia Moore had called him, it had seemed unreal then. He remembered picking up the phone, and hearing her sweet voice again, at first he was confused, then angry, then surprised, and finally he had been scared, so out instinct he hung up the phone, he had done it before he realized what he had actually done. Then he cursed and tried star sixty nine, which failed, because it was so Gaia to call from a private line. And she had not called back again, and he didn't blame her, after all if he called her and she hung up, then it was clear to him that she didn't want to talk to him. But it had been an accident in his situation, he didn't know what he was doing, he wasn't in control. He had called his phone company and demanded the number, but they told him that it was clearly untraceable, which made him kind of appreciate Gaia for being so annoying.

He smiled again, someone might think he was on drugs, he knew that if he were watching himself he'd think he was on drugs. And he hated Gaia for it, he had been free, he had been released from her love-spell, sure it took him 6 months, but later he finally got over it and realized she wasn't coming back, and he had been free. For awhile he had stopped thinking about it, that day she called he was actually worried that Victoria might never move out of the house. But now all he could think of was her voice, and why she had called….

Of course that meant constant thinking regarding Gaia, now she was becoming something more than what she was, since she wasn't actually there with him, she was becoming the goddess that he always imagined she was, untouchable, glorious, and out of this world.

He shook his head and snapped back to reality, Gaia wasn't there, she had called him private, and she was only annoying the shit out of him. He stood up and walked out into the cool night air, it was early September, he felt some sort of adrenaline but it was only his imagination, Gaia was not going to jump out from behind the bushes and hug him hello, she was not going to call him tomorrow, or the day after…. Finally he walked into Washington Square Park and looked for Bailey. Bailey was his new girlfriend; he had been with her for a year and a half, Bailey was almost everything Gaia was not, she was popular, she had many friends, she was always on her phone, and if he called her she was always there. They had started out as friends at first, but Bailey saw something in him that kick started the relationship, first it was just hanging out in class together, then seeing each other at parties, and then it was calling each other and going out together. Before either of them could ask, they were a couple. Bailey was like Heather, well the _old_ Heather, when Heather had many friends and was always on the go. Of course Bailey just was nicer, she didn't pick fights, she didn't have numerous enemies, she was just fun. And another thing that attracted him to Bailey was that Bailey was blonde, and blue eyed. When he first glanced in her direction it was because of that energetic blonde hair, he had to admit that it had reminded him of Gaia, but instead of the serious intense high cheek boned face he expected, it was a happy-smiling-dimples and all face.

"Hey there," He looked to see Bailey sitting on a bench with her best friend Claire.

"Hey you guys," He walked over and sat next to Bailey.

"Hey," He said and kissed her on the forehead. "So what are we doing tonight?"

"Well, we're just going to wait for Mark to get here, so he can pick up Claire, and then you and me can just go do whatever we want," Bailey said with a mischievous grin on her face.

"Nice," He said and kissed her. Kissing Bailey was different than kissing Gaia; Bailey was always wearing lip gloss that tasted good, which made her lips sweet and tasty.

"Yo, there's other people on the planet," Claire giggled, Claire was blonde but green-eyed, she was a pretty girl with freckles surrounding her eyes and nose. Bailey and Claire came from Ocean City, Maryland and naturally took to each other.

Bailey giggled even more and he smiled and held her tight, Bailey and Claire had both come back from their home towns only a couple weeks ago to go back to school. He had visited her in Ocean City during the summer; he then realized that Bailey having a boyfriend from the New York was a huge deal in her house because Bailey had a younger sister who idolized both of them. Apparently he was a golden boy; he had to admit that he often took advantage of who he was.

Ed went to NYU School of Medicine, and he was an active survivor of the experimental surgery that gave him back the use of his legs, even though he was not a million dollar victim from his tragic accident, Ed had made a deal that earned him an immediate 456,000 dollars, and 189,000 dollars in some pending damages that he was to receive soon, whatever that meant. Not a lot of people knew of this, but in the past year and a half, Bailey obviously took note of this. He didn't think that Bailey was with him for money, but since she had found out she always wanted him to go visit her parents. And when a girl wants you to visit the parents, it meant that the girl was getting serious.

"What up?" They turned around and saw Mark coming towards them, Mark was another golden boy, but Mark came all the way from Chicago to go to NYU, they were both in the same classes, so he had been the one to introduce Mark and Claire.

"Hey, sorry I'm late, as it turns out my boss wanted to talk to me, I've been promoted from cashier to waiter," Mark laughed, he worked at the Hard Rock Café in Times Square.

"That's nice, well see you later dude," He said and stood up.

"See you guys!" Bailey waved as Mark & Claire took off.

"So where are we off to tonight, your place or mine?" Ed asked Bailey.

"Well, Claire's got our place for tonight, and I hate being in other people's houses, so I got us a room," Bailey smiled at him.

"What? What's wrong with my place?" He asked her.

"You know… it freaks me out knowing Victoria and your parents are right next door," Bailey said to him.

"Your right, let's get going then." He said to her as he hailed a taxi.

"Ladies first…." He said as he opened the door for her.

While they rode to the Motel they cuddled in the back seat, Gaia would probably never allow that to happen. Bailey was wearing a simple t-shirt over her little shoulders, and she had a body that gave him the feeling that she was too fragile to hold too tight, but he squeezed her anyways.

"So when do your classes start?" Bailey asked him.

"Soon, I'm so glad you got back early, _why_ did you come back so early from home?" He asked her curiously, he knew her mom had problems letting go.

"Because I wanted to, I missed you Eddy," Bailey said to him and kissed his neck, and that was another thing, Gaia would never call him Eddy…..

Finally the cab pulled over and Ed gave him a ten, they walked together and she led the way to room 303. Ed always felt adrenaline before sex. Back in his wheelchair days he didn't have the use of his legs, so even if he got a boner, it would never travel down to his legs. Which he thought was the real disability, because your legs feel a rush starting from your thigh all the way down to your feet, kind of. And to not feel that during sex was such a disadvantage! Bailey opened the room and he kissed her as he shut the door behind them and stumbled their way onto the bed, Bailey always giggled during this part, which fueled him with more adrenaline to prove himself as a man.

Ed usually wasn't the macho type, but he assumed that every guy felt this during sex, the need to satisfy. And he knew that if he didn't satisfy Bailey, then he probably wouldn't be able to do it again without some sort of strategy. He took off his shoes and slipped his shirt off his head as Bailey threw her shirt across the room, and that was also another thing about Bailey, she was always ready and peppy for a smack down. He pushed his hands through her hair and trailed her neck with kisses.

"Help me take my pants off Eddy," Bailey whispered through heavy breaths.

Ed looked down at this exciting task and unbuttoned her pants, he kicked off his jeans as she pulled hers away, he let himself drop back on the bed a little tired, this was what nights were all about, having a good time with your girlfriend. She got on top of him and he knew that she felt the presence from under his boxers.

"Edddyyyyy," Bailey said to him and smiled, she licked his neck and massaged his hips, he couldn't move from her trance and simply closed his eyes, and he knew that he must have a dreamy expression on his face because he felt like he was on a cloud. Bailey traced his body with her hands and moved her fingers over his nipples, and she massaged him with firm pressure and circular movements. He felt his hands reach her back as he undid her bra, and she let it slip off.

Bailey always knew what she was doing, because when Ed wanted her to do something, she did it without a word spoken. She reached down and pulled down his boxers, this was when Bailey knew that he wanted her, because she could _see_ it. Ed felt himself moan and took several breaths, they both needed to take in a little air. The first time they had done it had been exciting, good, of course she had been the first and only girl _after_ Gaia, but each and every time they did it again, they knew each other so well that it was a magnifying experience, the sex was always better than the last time.

"Ed?" Bailey asked him timidly, it wasn't much of a question; it was more of letting him know that she was ready.

"Hmm," He moaned.

He let his fingers trace down to her panties and pushed them out of the way, they were both getting sweaty now, and the smell of her on him was infusing him. Then Bailey pulled the condom from its wrap and slipped it him.

They both began to make noises that only the other heard and moans and gasps escaped from both of them, Bailey laid her head on his chest and he held on to her waist.

"Ohhhh Ed," Bailey said with closed eyes.

He let his eyes close and he felt himself drifting off into climax….

"Gaia."

"What?"

"I love you."

"I love you too."


	3. Chapter 2 Explaining

Chapter Two

Explaining

Gaia Moore turned on Old Oak Street and anticipated the moment that she had built up all the way to Cherry Hill, New Jersey. There was no turning back now, and even if she had the guts to shift to reverse and get back on Route 41, she didn't want to. This was what she wanted to do; this was something she needed to do, because if she didn't re-connect with her father, then there was no way life could ever even get close to normal. The street started to get dirty, and before you knew it was no longer a road, but a path, she had driven into a forest full of two feet-apart trees. She had a GPS system in her car, but her GPS was misleading her, she had driven for two miles now and she had reached her location, and there was supposed to be a house in front of her. But there wasn't, instead the path ended by the closing in of trees. Gaia took a moment to think, this was a perfect place for her father to lay low, the _wilderness_. As far as she could remember her father wasn't the type of camp and go hunting type of father, so she didn't know why he was hiding out in the woods. But she kept thinking and concluded that her father had to be around here somewhere if Agent Rodriguez said so, obviously she had to hike the rest of the way, until she found something at least. The closing of the trees was no accident, those trees were fifty years old and obviously somebody had built a house nearby. If someone _had_ built a house nearby they obviously wanted to be left alone, there was no way for anyone to receive mail, or for a mailman to even come by, or for cable or electric lines to come by.

She knew that she had to park her car there, and she had to walk the rest of the way. She looked in her backseat and grabbed a first-aid pack and slung it over her shoulder, she realized that the shoes she was wearing were not meant to be used hiking. They were cop shoes, they had a small heal, but if she had any intentions of running, sprinting, chasing, or physical activity, the shoes will allow it. Of course only city cops would wear them so level ground was necessary for the correct function to work, they were not intended for uneven dirt. Gaia turned around and looked at her car, this was it, she was either going or leaving, but as she turned her head something caught her eye, there was a line under her car, as if there were a straight crack in the ground. She dropped her backpack and walked over to it, it was firm, but as she tapped the ground and stomped, she realized that there was something under the ground. Before she knew what she was doing she got in her car and moved the car back until she could see the crack on the ground. She examined a little sprout of grass and pulled, the hatch was too heavy for her to open it all the way back, there has to be a way for a single person to do it. So as she looked around she spotted two perfectly crafted sticks that would easily hold the hatch open, so she grabbed one and pushed the hatch up and tucked the stick under a perfect match of a hole. She grabbed the other stick and placed it under its own corresponding hole, finally she looked into the hole, it was very dark but as she put one foot inside a light turned on and she saw an F-150 planted inside. So this was simply a garage, if her father ever needed to go out he would simply jump in here. This was no secret lair, just a garage, she would have preferred if this _was_ the secret lair so she could sit back and relax. Instead she walked out and closed the hatch, knowing that a hike was still ahead.

She grabbed the back pack again and began to walk; there were trees and trees and more trees! She had a thought of when she watched the Blair Witch Project, it certainly was fitting, but she knew that movie had been a fake, even if for whatever reason the events that took place were actually real, she didn't believe in magic, she wasn't even sure she believed in god. The son was going to go down soon, half an hour at least. And before she knew it half an hour came and went, and she was walking in near dusk.

She looked in her backpack and had to decide between a flashlight, and night-vision goggles, and since she had always been the gadget type, she chose the goggles. She always liked being inconspicuous, unexpected, pretty much invisible. She knew that she must look a little funny, wearing survivor's back pack while she looked like a business woman with night-vision goggles. She began to think of taking off her shoes and walking barefoot before she saw bright white lights in her goggles; she slipped them off and found herself starring into a small cabin with a chimney with smoke coming out.

She stopped, now or never.

"Freeze." It was her father's voice.

"Dad?" She asked, knowing quite clearly it was him.

"Gaia!" Her dad sounded surprised and she turned to see him, he was standing in blue jeans and a red sweater, but with a gun in his hands, and even though it was dark she could still see her father's blue eyes starring at her, with a startled but happy expression.

She stepped forward and hugged him pushing the gun aside, it was the right thing to do, she had grown up a lot and she was no longer angry at her feelings, she now realized that she missed her father, and she needed to express it. Then her father wrapped his arms around her and they stood there in the dark, in a forest hugging each other.

"I've missed you so much," She found herself saying.

"I've missed you too," Her father said and kissed her forehead.

"I thought you were—you know," Her father said in an attempt of an apology.

"No, its okay," She said to him and looked up at him.

"Come on, come inside," Her father said and they both walked into the cabin.

It was homey, surprisingly modern but it would remind anyone of home.

"You, you look like a cop," Her father said with a smile.

"Thanks," She said and smiled back.

"I didn't expect you," Her father said and then frowned, "Of course there's no way I would have been able to expect you, but all the same, I'm glad you're here."

"Thanks Dad, I just, I needed someone, I'm on vacation right now," She said to him.

"Let's go into the kitchen, I'll make some hot chocolate while we talk," Her father said and they hurried into his warm kitchen.

"So tell me, how's the FBI treating you? I get the feeling you've managed to solve a big case which has promoted you to an agent," Her father said with a laugh. But even though her father was trying to sound cheery, she knew that there was a lot to make up for.

"Well yes, I solved a huge case actually," She said, "But I put someone else's life at risk and in turn of my recklessness and my irresponsibility, that person is dead."

"I don't think I fell in love, but I found myself intimate with someone, and I let my feelings get involved with what I was doing." And before Gaia knew it she spilled every detail about the case, about how she had felt betrayed by Catherine, and how she had gotten Will involved with everything. She told him about how she had disobeyed orders and about how she had risked not only her life, but many people at once.

"Gaia," Her father stopped her rambling.

"Gaia, there's nothing I can say that will make you feel better. There's no experience I can share that will make things right, but I will help you face reality, we make our choices, and we must live with them," Her father said and looked at her straight in the eyes. She nodded and stared at her hands, he was right; she had to live with her decisions, even if she did feel like complete shit, it was something she had to endure.

They sat for a while in silence, and they both knew that she had realized what life held, and what it would bring. The silence was a little comforting, because both of them were in complete understanding. Gaia found it inevitable, she began to realize that her father's destiny was also hers; she had been born without a fear gene which would be an advantage in her life.

"Dad, I came to you because ironically, you're the best person in the world that could possibly understand what I'm going through," She stopped to take a deep breath. "But for my whole life you were the last I would ever think of, but now that I have a better perspective of life, thanks."

"I know Gaia," Her father said with a small smile. "Don't you wish I would have been a computer salesman instead?" Her father's eyes twinkled and he laughed. "Maybe if Oliver and I would have grown up to be something else, we _would_ have a normal life. But I think in a way that we were destined to do this, I think I was destined to be born a twin, and I think I was destined to work at the CIA, and I also think that I was destined to have a daughter that could not feel fear. And I think that like me, you know that this job is the only thing that will feel right."

They both paused again, back when they had encounters; they had been uncomfortable and full of awkward silences, but now they felt even enjoyable, maybe this was what the FBI meant about normal life. Maybe this was what Americans all around the country did; they just sit together because it's comfortable.

"So how did you end up here?" She asked her dad gesturing towards the kitchen.

"Well I went on a mission, which I kind of messed up in," He said with a grin, "Since your graduation I had been working on it, and to try to explain to you all about it would be really boring Gaia." Her dad teased her in respond to her curious expression.

"Some day you'll be doing top secret missions too Gaia, and you'll come across some of my unfinished business," and as her dad said this, Gaia felt like a strange father daughter moment. Like when a father tries to explain to his sixteen year old about driving….

"Anyways this place suits me well, there's no telephone lines or cable, but that's okay cause I've got all the goods I need right here," Her dad pointed to a bookshelf, among the collection she managed to spy out Moby Dick, her dads' favorite.

"And since you're here I take that Rodriguez has given the okay," her dad said mostly to himself. "This means we can leave and take off for the Bahamas."

"The Bahamas? Nah," She shook her head, "I kind of wanted to visit New York…. Well I've _wanted_ to visit New York; I haven't been there since…. I left."

"Definitely, we'll get on the road as soon as possible," Her dad said, "Or we can get a private plane and get there in an hour." Her father added with a smile.

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Bailey was worried, for the first time since she and Ed started dating she felt like something was wrong in the relationship.

Ed had called her Gia during sex, she was sure of it; she had heard him call her Gia while they were both in the act of the most powerful intimate expression. She always thought they were making love, she had never called it sex before, but Ed had called her something the night before and it sure as hell wasn't Bailey.

Ed was a sentimental man, which was one of the main reasons why she fell in love with him.

"Maybe it was just your imagination," Claire suggested next to her. But Bailey knew what she had heard; there was no doubt that Ed had said _someone's_ name. "And in the bright side at least he said the L word," Claire added.

"I don't know, we were in the moment when he said it. He said it after he called me Gia odds are that even if he did mean it, it wasn't directed at me," She said in a teary voice.

"Well at least tell me how he performed last night," Claire asked her with a mischievous grin on her face.

Bailey blushed and smiled at Claire, "It was great of course….. Maybe better than ever, he's like a sex machine. He could just lay there without moving, and I'll do him anyway and know that I'll still have a good time. He just, pumps me up," Bailey said dreamily. It was true; for once she could talk about her sex life because her boyfriend was a sex _star._

She remembered feeling Ed's strong arms plant her firmly, and she loved how Ed always grunted and moaned when they were together. Feeling his supple hard body was part of why their sex was getting better, according to Ed years after he became crippled, he lost a majority of his leg muscle and gained much more muscle weight on to his arms. But now that he was skateboarding more and using his arms less, approximately three and a half years after his surgery, he had built almost all of the muscle he lost _back_ and managed to build a super body. Ed wasn't a hunk, but he certainly wasn't a skinny skater boy anymore.

"It's getting pretty late, it's almost nine, we should go back to the dorm," Claire noted after a while.

"You're right, let's get out of here, but you should probably go ahead, I'm going to try and get a hold of Eddy," She said and waved goodbye to Claire.

Bailey loved boys; she had grown up in Ocean City of course, which was a huge vacationing spot during the summer, but heaven all year round, except for hurricanes sometimes. She packed her things into her heavy backpack and flipped open her phone and speed dialed Ed's number, he always picked up in his house, sometimes and very rarely his mother picked up, but it didn't bug her anyway.

"Hey," Ed said into the phone.

"Hey babe," Bailey responded.

"What's up?" He asked.

"Hey can I come over?" Bailey asked him, Ed felt a little confused, they had spent the night together the night before because Ed had specifically known that he needed to do work.

"Um, I'm kind of doing home—"

"Yeah I know, I know Eddy, but we need to talk," Bailey said to him quickly, Ed felt a little butterfly inside his stomach.

"Um, yeah, sure," Ed said cheerily, but he knew something was wrong, why the hell did she want to see him now if they had seen each other the night before?

"Okay, I'll be over soon," And with that Bailey hung up the phone.

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Ed sat on his bed a little confused; he and Bailey had never had a talk before. Bailey was not the type of girl to fuss which was another reason why he was fond of her; you didn't find a girlfriend like that everyday. Did she find out that Gaia called him? No way, he thought, there's no way Bailey could be some super spy or something. No he doubted that, but why would Bailey want to talk to him? She didn't even know about Gaia, or any of the wild adventures that he had ever been involved in. Ed felt a little guilty about not telling her the specifics about Gaia, or how important she had been to him, and Ed had no intentions of telling her. Gaia had been an epic in his life, it had been the great story that he would tell his grandchild one day, but until then he was not ready to talk about it.

Knock. Knock.

Ed finally stood up and walked out of his room; lucky for them his parents went out with his sister to talk to some lawyers, but all the same he was feeling a little nervous.

"Hey Ed," Bailey said to him as he opened the door, she strode inside and began to take off her jacket. He knew already that a mighty big conversation might be looming over the horizon.

"Hey B, what's going on?" He asked her with a raised eyebrow, he sat next to her on the couch.

"Well, see I needed to talk to you about something," Bailey said to him, Ed could tell that she was a little worried herself.

"Okay, go ahead," He said to her, he wanted to let her know that whatever she wanted to say she could, there was nothing to worry about.

"Okay," Bailey agreed but she stood up and walked around nervously around the coffee table.

"Whatever Bailey, nothing to fear," He assured her, and added a reassuring smile.

"Okay Ed, it's just, the thing is that yesterday night, you told me something," Bailey said to him, and he almost smiled, she was referring to the fact that he told her that he loved her. That had to be it, that's why she was so nervous, she just wanted to make sure that he meant it. "And Ed—you, I don't even know where to start, the thing is that—I'm worried, because—Agh!"

"Calm down, it's okay Bailey, I remember what happened last night, and you don't have anything to worry about, because I _do _love you," He stood up and walked over to her, he about 5 inches taller than her, and she smiled for a second.

"Ed, you called me Gia last night while we were making love," Bailey said to him. Ed almost opened his mouth to deny he had ever said such a thing, but half a second later he was dumbstruck. He hadn't called her Gia, he had called her Gaia and Bailey had caught him in the act.

The silence stretched long enough to reveal the truth in his eyes, and he knew that Bailey knew that she had caught him.

"What?" Bailey almost yelled and he could see the anger in her eyes, her pretty blue eyes had formed two small wrinkles in between.

"Bailey—" He was caught in words, he wasn't sure what to say, he could either keep denying it, which was stupid because they both knew he was caught. The best thing was to apologize and possibly, maybe explain. He almost rolled his eyes, there goes the whole grandpa story he was planning on.

"Bailey I'm so sorry," He managed to let out.

"So you imagined I was another girl while you were doing me!" Bailey's words cut through him like a knife.

"No! Of course not, I know who I was with, it just slipped out, and I didn't even know I had said it!" He said defensively, but that was not the right thing to say, he needed to apologize.

"That doesn't change the fact that when we were together you unconsciously said another girl's name!" Bailey uttered, his heart broke for her, because her tears were falling fast and quick. "So who is she Ed? Who's this Gia huh?"

"Well, I—I didn't say Gia, because I never met a girl named Gia, well I don't know maybe I did, but I didn't say Gia, I—I was referring to another girl," He stuttered and placed his face in his hands, he let himself collapse on to the sofa, time to come clean was coming soon he thought.

"I never told you something, or of some_one_." He said quietly, it was so quiet in the apartment that he could here Bailey's quiet sobs, and he felt like her tears were just more examples to add to the list of why he was such an asshole.

"Don't stop," Bailey whispered and sat on the other sofa.

"I, I'm not sure I can talk about this," He said quietly, his own thoughts were penetrating against him, they didn't want to be reveal, too much pain to recall….

"Ed, don't you think that this is the least you can do?" Bailey asked him, she had a determined tone and he knew that he owed her at least the truth.

"Well, I never told you for a reason Bailey, Gaia was a big part of my life…." He turned to look into Bailey's eyes, she wanted to know….

"Well, it all started when I was still in high school, when I was a senior, I met a girl during the year. A girl named Gaia Moore—she was, well—do you want me to be honest?" He asked her, he could only recall his experience with Gaia Moore in one way, and to talk about her in any other way was something that he didn't know how to do….

"Was she your girlfriend?" Bailey asked him.

"Well, she was more than that, she was my best friend—she was the only girl I ever wanted to understand. Like I said, she was new to school, I wasn't new to girls, I've had previous meetings with other girls. But Gaia Moore was different, when I first met her, she insulted me, and this might sound weird but that day I fell in love with her…. It's an understatement but, I felt like she was the only real girl around. And everyday after that I talked to her, she was the type of girl that you just knew she was hiding something, and you really wanted to get to know that girl, and you wanted to know why she hurt so much…. So after a while we became best friends, and I wanted her so bad, I wanted her to see the guy, not the wheelchair guy that I was…." Ed remembered those painful times, when he thought that he might _never_ kiss Gaia Moore…. "Well Gaia and I went through hurtles, our friendship was tested, you can say that Gaia was tested all the time. And all I wanted to do was help her…. I loved Gaia; I loved her before she even looked at me in that way. We put up with more than I could ever explain, in fact I believe that it all led up to us, possibly, I can't say that the highlight of her life would be me, I doubt that, Gaia is an exciting girl. She is a woman who's out of this world… but when she lets you see her, then you see more of the beautiful woman inside her…. Finally when we got together, it didn't last long, I caught her cheating on me, or I didn't, I thought I had. But I didn't, I had stopped talking to her for a long time, and I felt brain dead throughout that time. Then without warning she came to me, gave me a hug, and left New York City forever…. I found out the next day in the paper that her ex-boyfriend Jake Montone died that night she left, I'm not sure what happened, even though I have an idea….. According to the newspaper Jake died from a shot to the chest, and Gaia was always followed by dangerous people, everyone wanted to keep people from getting to close to her all the time."

Ed looked at Bailey and hoped for a sign of understanding, but he saw an expression on her face that he had never seen before. It came across as something like anger and a little inpatient; he thought for a second that she was going to roll her eyes.

"Ed, don't you think that this is the type of think that you _should_ tell me?" Bailey asked him, he wasn't sure if she was mad or glad.

"But I wasn't ready to talk about it," Ed said defensively, he was only trying to be honest!

"Yes Ed, but don't you think that if you would have told me we wouldn't have to go through this? What happened when we had the truth talk? When we were suppose to let the truth all out huh? When were you planning on telling me this, obviously this girl meant a lot to you and the fact that your ex is a psycho murderer—"

"She's not a murderer! I never said that, and you never knew her!" He shouted, he suddenly found himself on his feet and he could feel a surge of anger running through him. "This is why I didn't tell you, because you wouldn't understand, and partly this was a part of my life that was so private and pure, it meant more to me than anything, she meant more to me than anything, she meant more to me than my own two feet!"

"Well basically it sounds like you were obsessed with a girl who always ignored you—"

"There's more to it than that! It's not just like you think—I can't just explain in half an hour, because there was more to her, Gaia—" But he stopped himself, he couldn't tell Bailey, she obviously didn't understand, telling her more would jeopardize Gaia's identity, her secrets, and Gaia didn't have much, except herself. If he went around and told things like that to just anybody, he shook his head, Bailey wasn't just anybody. But he had always planned on keeping Gaia secret, even if she wasn't around to appreciate his character.

"No, this conversation stops here, you obviously don't understand, and I won't say anymore because I don't want to speak anymore about this, get out," Ed hadn't meant to say 'get out,' but it kind of slipped out, he had obviously expressed that he didn't want to talk about it, he folded his arms and stared into Bailey's eyes. Bailey was furious, her cheeks were pink and her light blue eyes were narrowed.

"Okay Ed, see ya around," Bailey said testily, he wasn't sure what to do, but just as quick as he blinked she grabbed her coat, ran to the door and slammed her way out.

The whole seen had been cold, obviously Bailey didn't understand, he took a deep breathe and felt himself relax. They would talk about this sooner or later…. But not tonight, he walked back to his room and collapsed on top of his homework, and drifted into dreams, which ironically, Gaia was in.


	4. Chapter 3 Realization

Chapter Three

Realization

Bailey was steaming, she felt like a tea kettle just about to blow the whistle. And why was she so angry? Because she had just realized that her perfect boyfriend, the one that her friends loved, the one that her _parents_ loved, the one that _she _loved—wasn't so perfect after all. It was hard to imagine that just a few days before life had been perfect, she was still top in her class in NYU, she had gone to fun parties, and her boyfriend hadn't totally said another girl's name while they were having sex.

She looked at the clock but class still had five minutes to go, she wanted to get out of there, and fast too—because as soon as the bell rang she knew that Claire and Kelly would probably ask her about Ed. She didn't want her friends to know that her relationship was in complete jeopardy, because she didn't like to look like the little weakling, that wasn't something that she was used to.

She had to stop thinking about this; she could already feel tears piling up in her eyes. She took out her phone, but no luck yet, Ed had _not_ called. She had been with Ed almost for two years that was her longest relationship yet…. She remembered seeing him for the first time at the park; Claire had pointed him out to her at first while he was on a skateboard with a couple of other guys. She remembered thinking that he was good looking, and then talking to him, and getting to know him. She didn't know it then but he was the greatest guy she would ever catch, well that's at least how she always felt about him. She jumped a little as she heard the bell ring and ran out the door, what could she possibly do? She had to two alternatives:

One, break up with Ed and that's that.

Or two, simply talk this out and try to move on.

Bailey knew that she didn't want to break up with Ed, having a boyfriend might be easy, but having a relationship is something that took time to build up. Bailey and Ed had been together for _two_ years, she had met him the first day she came to New York, and the first time they did it together she knew she wanted to be with him. She wasn't in love, or at least she didn't think so, she often thought that if she was in love, she would know it with all her heart and it would just be a sudden realization.

As she opened the door to her dorm room she dropped her bag and stared at the clock, it was two o'clock in the afternoon, the night before had been bad. She hadn't had a good nights' sleep and she knew that if she didn't do something about Ed then she knew that she wasn't going to feel good at all. She wasn't the type of person to ignore, or blow things off.

She knew that if she called, Ed might not pick up and that was something that she didn't want to rely on. She found herself staring at a photo of her and Ed, they were both hugging each other in front of the beach in Ocean City, when she had gotten the photos developed she found herself thinking that that was going to be a photo that they would both look back on years from now. _I love Ed._ She thought, otherwise why would she have thoughts of him and her in the future? _It has to be love; I've never been this serious with anyone else in the world. I cried last night and I can feel tears in my eyes now. It's my fault, I shouldn't have pressured him into doing something he didn't want to do, maybe this whole time I've had relationships all wrong. And even though we aren't together because Eddy had called me by the name of another woman during our hours of love, and even though we have just had a huge fight in which he had only made things worse, I can't help but want him back. I'm not mad, not even the slightest, I just want him back in my arms and I want to let him know that we have the rest of our lives to talk about whatever the hell we want and don't want._

Bailey stood up and knew what she was going to do, she knew it was a risky thing, but she knew what she wanted and she was not going to hold back anymore. She grabbed her cell phone and pressed two.

Ring.

Ring.

Ring.

_He doesn't want to talk to me._

Ring.

_He doesn't love me like I love him…._

Ring.

Ring.

Ring.

_"You've reached –_The Fargos'—_but they are unavailable—"_

Bailey hung up the phone, Ed wasn't going to talk to her, and she kind of had known deep in the back of her mind that he probably wasn't _going_ to pick up. Those were Ed's ways; they had once had a small fight when Ed had found out that she had gone out dancing while he was away at an interview for two days, and he found out that she had accidentally kissed one of her dance partners and he didn't talk to her for four days before she hunted him down and finally sorted everything out.

She decided to relax a little and let him steam down, for the rest of the day she found herself moping around her room and looking at old pictures before Claire pulled her out and took her to get something to eat. Claire had invited another classmate named Hailey, and they chattered about classes, boyfriends, jobs, fashion, models, actors, actresses, guys, girls, and everything that would appear normal to anyone else. Bailey stood aside and didn't speak a word; she didn't feel chatty at all. Later Bailey and Claire both went back to the dorm and Claire was doing homework from eight to ten, but even though she was in pajamas, in her bed, under the sheets, and her light was off, Bailey couldn't sleep.

During the whole matter she hadn't thought of Gaia Moore, she wasn't sure if she felt anger, or jealousy. But then she realized that she wasn't angry with Gaia Moore, she was jealous. It made her think that maybe to Ed she was nothing special, of course compared to Gaia Moore, Ed could have been comparing her to this girl the entire time she's been with him. _"Gaia was a big part of my life…."_ She cringed as she remembered the words that had escaped from Ed's mouth; Gaia Moore was probably sleek, beautiful, she was probably part of a Russian mafia, and was probably brunette, and she was probably really skinny and had long beautiful hair…. She had once admired a tall beautiful brunette at her old school, Jane had been her name, and she had been beautiful and tall too. She had been skinny and clothes would naturally fit her like a glove, Bailey had been kind of jealous then, but now she was super jealous.

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"Want to play a game?" Gaia asked her dad while walking across Washington Square Park in a sunny day with empty chess tables; she actually couldn't remember the last time she played a game with him. Maybe when he took her to Paris they had played, but for once her mind hadn't narrowed down the time or place.

"Of course," Her father said to her and they both took their seats. Playing a game with her dad was always exciting, that's one thing that her mind never failed to forget, her dad was her mentor and her best opponent, Sam had been a great player. But he had only managed to outsmart her once or twice, while her dad almost always beat her, and he always provided a good long battle.

They sat there for hours, prediction each others' moves and outsmarting would could possibly be the outcome. After an hour passed a couple of clouds moved in the sky and the sun started beating hard on the pavement, she started to sweat, but the logical game that was playing before her had her mind turning wheels smoothly.

She guessed that her dad probably hadn't played much either, because she managed to overpower him and take the offense. It was a sign of weakness, losing the lead was always the beginning of the end or the beginning of the challenge. That was one thing her dad always told her, and before long he managed to pick up the lead again, making her pick up her defenses.

After a while several onlookers who had finished their games began to watch theirs, most of them only watched, others became captivated by the impressive strokes that both she and her father took.

Gaia looked up to see her father's face, he was frowning with concentration and his arms were folded in his chest, his behavior was demeaning and he was pretending to be frustrated. From that point on her dad struck her with a strategy that had assumed her every move and before she knew it she had lost and several of the onlookers looked impressed with awe or confused in thought.

"Good game Gaia," Her dad said cheerily, his blue eyes were dancing and twinkling with glee.

"Thanks dad," She said, but she felt a little disappointed at the same time. She hadn't been sitting on her ass the whole time he was away, she genuinely practiced, and it wasn't like she had had bad partners, Sam had been half way decent, Zolov had been internationally ranked…. And to top it off she had the balls to join the chess team while she had been in Stanford. She smirked, her dad _was_ a genius after all, and she had to admit that during half of the game she had been using some of the same strategies he had taught _her_.

"That was an amazing game," A man with a thick accent said to them and then the crowd scattered.

"I'm hungry, want to go to Gray's Papaya?" She asked her dad.

"Sure," They both stood up and joined the crowded sidewalks. Gaia couldn't help feeling like this was what every dad should be like; it would be a dream if she could stay with her dad in New York forever and never and ever had to return to Quantico.

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Ed was getting paranoid; he had just imagined seeing Gaia Moore cross the street in front of Washington Square Park.

The wave of blonde hair had caught his attention at the corner of his eyes, and a graceful body had presented itself in the middle of the street wearing caprice pants and a blue blouse. That couldn't be Gaia Moore, if he raced across the sidewalk and jumped the girl he would only find himself staring into misery, because he knew it wouldn't be Gaia, because it would never be Gaia. Because last time he jumped a girl like that it had been a different girl and he had gotten punched in the face, he was not going to risk embarrassment like that again, but before he knew it the girl glanced back and he could have sworn that it _was_ Gaia. He shook his head and kept walking. Now he was not only getting paranoid, but he was getting so delusional it was ridiculous. His mind was crowded with misery, just the thought of never seeing Gaia again was depressing, and he didn't know if he wanted to live on.

When Gaia first left him, for a while he had been in a coma similar to the one he was now drowsing into. He remembered his parents telling him to get out, to do something, maybe to go out with Heather. Because after Prom Heather had progressed so well, she could see now. Victoria had even suggested that he should try things out with Heather again, but Victoria didn't know anything, she didn't know about Heather and Ed's earlier deal which chained Ed to his chair, and if he told Victoria, he honestly didn't know if she would be angry with Ed or maybe shallow enough not to understand what that meant to him. Or maybe she would understand, he remembered how much his chair had affected her attitude towards him, but he would only leave Heather in a humiliating corner. And Ed was not that type of guy, he was not going to share the terrible promise that Heather made him make.

But even thinking about Heather and his sister for just a little couldn't keep Ed away from missing Gaia, he had once believed in soul mates, and sitting on the bench, reminiscing of sitting there with a girl that was probably half way across the world and probably _not even_ thinking of him told him that if he did have a soul mate, it was probably Gaia Moore.

_What about Bailey?_

That little voice inside his head seemed to know him well enough, and it was letting him know that he was not an asshole. He shrugged, in spite of himself he felt guilty for what he had said to Bailey. Maybe not telling her was a bad idea, but he couldn't help himself. If he told Bailey about Gaia, what could he possibly have left? Maybe he should talk to Bailey, because fact is that he had to get real, Gaia Moore didn't just cross the street, and Gaia Moore was probably not missing him like he was missing her.

And he also realized then that he was reliving his depressive six month Gaia coma after she left, he thought that he had been over it, and he was such a loser, the slightest hint of communication between him and Gaia, and he was almost ready to slip back into depression. No, he couldn't do that, he was reliving the depression part which told him that Gaia Moore was not coming back, so in order to get over it, he had to move on like he did the first time. So he realized that it was about time to give Bailey a call.


	5. Chapter 4 Tom's Shock

Chapter Four

Tom's Shock

Tom couldn't have been having a better time with Gaia; she was obviously enjoying herself, which was something they hadn't done in years, since they had gone to Paris together. He loved the way she called him 'Dad' and he loved the way that they were free to hang out casually, nothing could possibly beat that moment in time. They were staying in the Plaza Hotel, which was courtesy of his American Express card.

Gaia was in her room taking a nap before they went out to eat dinner, and he was supposed to be resting too, but he couldn't sleep, he had to enjoy every minute of their time together because he knew it wouldn't last. Sooner or later he would be called to set out on another mission, and report to JFK and take a flight somewhere overseas. He wasn't ready to do that, but he had to admit that he needed to do something, he felt useless just sitting there looking at Central Park, it was nice, yes. But he wasn't trained to sit, so he did what he does often and took out his laptop. It was just five o'clock, in half an hour the sun would set a little and it would be time to get out on the town, there's no better way to find out what's going on than with a click of a button. But as soon as he logged on a small new mail icon popped into his screen, he cringed in annoyance, whatever it was could only be an order, an informant, an important message, and whatever it said it would all go down to the same thing, go here at this time in this place right now.

It was his duty as an agent so he pressed the icon.

**2 New Email(s)!**

**Sub// Moore, Oliver FA#4465 "Loki" File **_**(Updated)**_

_**-From: 4465cia.gov (09/18/04)**_

**Sub// Contact**

_**-From: 2019cia.gov (09/18/04)**_

Tom recognized both e-mail addresses at once, the first e-mail was from Oliver's address, Tom was a high level access agent, and he had once requested to get notifications on the whereabouts of his brother at all times, which meant that whenever there was an update in his Agent file he would get an e-mail, maybe a call, a letter, anything depending on his location. The second e-mail was also recognizable; it was from Agent Rodriguez whom often did send him information. Which to open first?

**Former Agent #4465**

**Moore, Oliver**

**Alias: Loki**

**Birth Name: **Oliver Moore

**Born:** August 23, 1962

Albany, New York

**Died: **September 18, 2004

Chicago, Illinois

He stopped reading, could it be possible? Was this legit? Was Oliver _really dead?_ He could feel the shock, and the numbness, he could feel it because he couldn't feel his body, he wouldn't move, and he couldn't move his eyes. Maybe he could, but the numbness was keeping him still. It didn't make sense, being able to feel numb because you can't feel anything. But Tom was a genius for a reason, he had felt the sensation before, he had felt it for a few moments after Katia died, he had been young then, and trained to deal with terrifying situations like those. But this? He couldn't say that he would miss his brother for years to come like Katia, his brother had betrayed him, more than once, his brother had been the cause for Katia's death, and for Gaia's misery. If it weren't for his brother's crimes and lies, Gaia wouldn't have been so confused about him for such a long time.

But what if it wasn't true? This wasn't the first time he had heard Oliver was dead, it was the first time the _CIA_ believed Oliver was dead, and as quick as it came the numbness crawled away. His training was kicking him back into reality; he needed to get the facts, collect information, and assess the situation. He clicked the second e-mail from Agent Rodriguez:

**Agent,**

**Urgent message, you must reach me as soon as possible, I'm sure news has reached you already. No vital information will be discussed in this e-mail. And damn it pick up your damn phone, you do have it for a reason don't you?**

**Agent Rodriguez,**

**CIA Operative**

**A #20189**

He had been ignoring his phone on purpose. Since he didn't want to be reached for anything, but he couldn't deny getting involved with this, this was about his family, even if it was his no good brother. And ignoring this could possibly be harmful not only to him but to Gaia, if Oliver wasn't dead, odds are that he was up to no good.

He grabbed his phone and in two rings Rodriguez picked up:

"Agent Moore, have you been ignoring your duty as an agent?"

"Yes," He said with annoyance.

"Well free time is over agent! I will not ask you to return to Langley, but I want you to report to underground NY Headquarters ASAP, you know the drill, and as always, information regarding this case will only be discussed in secure locations. I want to hear from you in thirty," Rodriguez said to him and hung up. Obviously the CIA thought they had a case on their hands, and questions popped into Tom's head like fireworks, what's happened to Oliver? Was Oliver killed? Was he _murdered?_ Who murdered him? What was he doing in Chicago?

Should he tell Gaia? Obviously Gaia would want to know, she was smart, brilliant, and she was no longer a child, she was no longer a little girl, or a teenager, or a rebel, she was an adult. He preferred not to tell her, and his duty as an agent supported that decision, but the fact that Oliver was Gaia's uncle, and possible threat and foe was more concerning. Gaia was a Special Agent; she probably could get clearance due to not only her professional status, but the fact that she was an important subject related to Oliver's file, it would be vital for her to know information.

He closed his laptop and stepped into the small living room, he was hesitant, but he knocked on Gaia's door anyway.

"Yeah?"

"Gaia, there's been a notice, um—I need to go downtown—" But as quick as lightning Gaia ripped the door open.

"Are you leaving?" Her words were kind, but she was trying, he knew that she hated this part.

"No, I don't have to leave the state, but, I think that you should come with me," He said to her.

They both stayed quiet for a second, it seemed that Gaia was trying to understand the scene like she had been trained.

"I can't share any details, but I know that if I don't share this with you in secure quarters you will reach news of this and hear about it anyway…." He said to her, and this time she didn't bother to hide the interest shown in her blue eyes.

"Let's go then," She said, they grabbed their coats and headed out. He knew that he didn't want to tell Gaia, he didn't want to get her involved. And Rodriguez hadn't said anything about allowing her in, but he knew that she would be necessary at some point; she might as well be involved in everything. It was only natural that he would take her along, this concerned Gaia anyway. They hailed a cap and neither of them said a word during the ride, and he speculated that they were both speculating, he knew where and for what he was headed, but Gaia didn't.

But then another thought struck him, wouldn't he have known if Oliver was dead? He had once been in a mission when a twin cried in pain because he felt that there was something in the air that was just wrong, at the time two countries away his twin had been murdered and eaten for dinner, no joke. There were things that Tom hated to think about, specially that specific moment in time. Of course Tom had hated Oliver at that moment when that happened, but Oliver and Tom had once shared and still shared an internal bond, the fact that they were both in the womb together, they were each other's best friends and worst enemies. It was something surreal.

When they arrived at Headquarters, it was simply called Johnny's Pub. They walked in and only two people were inside, a bartender, and a man who was watching the Yankees game on the screen.

"Can I help you two?" The bartender asked them sharply. He was a man in his thirties, he hadn't shaved in two days and he needed a haircut, his uniform was a simple shirt with a stain on the sleeve.

"No thank you, we'll just help ourselves to your facilities," The man nodded and he led Gaia to a door in the back. The door was heavy, and once they opened it they were in a room no bigger than a walk in closet which immediately proceeded with a spiral staircase.

"Dad, if this is an intelligence building and if anyone wanted to come in here they could," Gaia commented to him.

"Yes," He agreed, and before he took a step down the stairs he stopped and Gaia bumped into him.

"But we've made upgrades since the clever Gaia Moore managed to leak info from our offices, I bet you anything that the door automatically locked behind you," He said, "And you need a special code to get through the door on the bottom, so it's just a much a trap as it is an entrance."

They quickly made their way down, and he entered a standard code that he had been given since he became a Top Agent.

The metal door in front of them opened up to reveal a small office; two secretaries were seated on either side of the room. They approached the left secretary's desk first.

"Agent Moore here, I am being accompanied by Special Agent Moore with the FBI—"

"Go ahead Agent Moore," The secretary said quickly and pressed a small button under her desk which opened a door behind her.

"Thank you," He said and followed through the door, they walked down a small hallway which scanned their clothes and detected forms of medals on them.

An elevator opened in front of them and they stepped inside, there were no buttons in front of them, he felt the elevator head down and there was a protected camera eyeing them both. Neither of them said a word, and the elevator ride took nearly five minutes, they stopped several times just to stop in midair, then go up, and down once again. Finally the doors opened.

"Agent Tom Moore, please follow me," A man said wearing a black suit; he had blonde hair cropped short.

"I am Agent Miller, Agent Rodriguez is waiting for us in a level below," Agent Miller said, he beckoned towards stairs leading down, the room they had entered was huge with many people at work with computers and monitors here and there. "This is the official headquarters in New York regarding the Oliver Moore case, instructions for you sir." Miller said and handed him an envelope from his pocket, he took it and felt Gaia staring at him, she was finally getting an idea by now of what this was about.

They walked down the stairs which revealed an even larger room similar to the one on top, but the real business was getting done down here.

"Agent Moore, nice of you to join us," Rodriguez said the minute he appeared, Rodriguez looked sharp; his mustache a little smaller than the last time he saw him, but he was wearing his traditional suit and looked annoyed as always. "And _Special _Agent Moore, I'm not surprised to see you here as well." Rodriguez nodded to Gaia as she appeared from behind him. "I will fill both of you in as fast as I can, I assume Tom that you have not informed Miss Moore and I will not clarify that matter but I will start from the beginning. Exactly at nine eighteen this morning central time, Oliver Moore was shot by a sniper, while he was walking around the Buckingham Fountain in Chicago with an un-identified companion."

"Do we have any leads on the companion or the sniper?" He asked.

"Believe it or not, we do and it's a little far fetch, in fact I turned down the theory as soon as I received it. First of all, let me start out by saying that we have confirmed this but not to the public," Rodriguez said before taking a deep breath, before continuing. "We believe that Oliver's companion was a female. Two upper level agents have sent us a photo taken from a far distance, a tourist took this picture ten minutes before Oliver was attacked, the date marks nine o eight," Rodriguez said. And on one of the large monitors, a picture was displayed, Tom almost gasped. The picture showed a man smiling while wearing a Chicago Bears shirt in the middle of the frame, but if you looked a little to the right in the background…. You could see two people's profiles as they faced each other. Oliver was there and he was facing a woman with long brown hair, they were both wearing business clothes on a hot sunny day…. They were shaking hands.

"So we can assume that Oliver was there to meet this woman, and the meeting started at exactly nine o eight right?" Gaia said next to him, she moved in front of him and approached the picture.

"Yes, and whomever took this picture was facing west, which pin points Oliver at north east, when Oliver fell, he and his companion had walked from point A, to point B," Rodriguez demonstrated by showing a photo of the Buckingham Fountain, he traced with his laser from north east, to west.

"If you look closely you can see an intersection right there, has anyone checked for cameras?" Gaia asked.

"Yes, they're all on their way," Rodriguez said to Gaia.

"Look at this Rod," Agent Miller said as he pointed to the screen. CNN was displayed, and Oliver's photo was being displayed in the background.

"Welcome back to CNN Prime Time, its seven fifteen and now a developing story that we have just gotten notice of. Around nine twenty this morning in Chicago, an unidentified John Doe was shot in the middle of the Buckingham Fountain Park. John Doe was later identified as Oliver Moore, a man who was a known terrorist around the world under another name, 'Loki.' We will continue this story within the following hour, but first, let's check in with Frank as he gives us a quick newsflash in twenty seconds—"

"How the hell is this leaking out?" Rodriguez shouted to the room as he muted the screen.

"We believe it's one of the contacts in Chicago," Miller said.

"Well figure it out!" Rod shouted, "I don't need reporters butting in yet!"

"No problem sir," Miller said as he turned and walked quickly back to one of his operatives.

"Tom, a quick word," Rod pointed to him and he followed Rod to a small room off to the side. The tiny room had a desk and was obviously going to be Rod's new office, as he stepped in Rod shut the door behind him and they both quickly sat down.

"I'm sorry Tom, first off I'll start with that, I'm sorry that this case will probably become a huge mess. But you know that this question was coming, so I have to ask you: Are you going to be able to handle this case?" Rod looked at him.

Tom didn't answer immediately, because in the back of his mind he felt like he had been experiencing a slight case of shock. But he wasn't sure whether he _was_ experiencing shock or not, he had been pretty calm so far, he had not lost his train of thought thus far, he was definitely not feeling depressed, angry, sad, or out of control. He was almost handling this like any other case, but he had a lingering thought that as a twin, Tom _should_ have felt Oliver's presence disappear; they had been brothers, best friends, pals, each others' role models …. After the mission when his partner claimed to feel his own twin die from across the world, Tom just always knew that it would be like that for him. But it wasn't, he had been playing a game of chess with Gaia just six hours ago!

"I will, I _can, _handle-this case I mean." He confirmed Rod, but Rod's eyes weren't convinced, his ruler-straight mustache twitched.

"Is that right Tom?" Rod asked again, he leaned close to Tom and Tom had the familiar feeling of being questioned by a high school teacher…. This gave you the ridiculous sense that no matter how old you got, you would always feel immature…

"Of course," He re-assured Rod, he even narrowed his eyebrows to give a hint of affirmative irritation.

"Okay Agent, get to work then," Rod said and he stood up and dusted himself quickly, before heading back out to the room. He left the door ajar but Tom didn't get up, the fact was that he _was_ in shock. He needed to hide the symptoms, he knew they were showing. He quickly stood up and exited the room as well. Gaia was now sitting down at a desk herself, she looked frustrated too, he wondered if Oliver's death would affect her at all….


	6. Chapter 5 Was He Dead Yet?

Chapter 5: Was he dead yet?

"You can sit here Miss Moore," Miller said to Gaia, he pointed to an empty desk with a computer. She took a seat and Miller quickly walked back up the stairs from which they had arrived, she had no intentions of sitting down on a computer. In fact, questions were quickly pouring out of her mind, and the urge to get out of the chair she had just sat in and ask questions, examine photos, and walk around a little bit was growing. She looked towards the room that Agent Rod and her father had just walked in to; her dad had been a little nervous and uncertain during the ride.

She glanced at the monitor. Her Uncle Oliver's file was open on the desktop, as well as everybody else's desktops. Any other day she would have died to have a peek at this page, but she doubted that even if she did have much more to learn about her Uncle's twisted morphed mind, she would even find not worth learning. Fact was that her Uncle had changed even if it was just for the last few years of his life… He was a different man; hopefully, she rolled her eyes and looked at the page. She scrolled down, and related links section followed….

**Tom Moore A#4464 (Active)**

**Katia Petrova Moore File #6343148**

**Gaia Moore File #100463**

She wanted to read whatever was put in writing about her mother, but she was slightly more interested in what the CIA had to say regarding _her_.

**Gaia Moore File #100463**

**Birth Name: Moore, Gaia**

**Born: July 17, 1982**

**Albany, New York**

**Parents: Tom Moore**

** Katia Petrova Moore**

** Gaia Moore is an **_**active**_** subject, relative to more than 250+ files.**

**Bio: Born to Tom & Katia Moore in Albany, New York, on Sunday July 17 1982, Gaia Moore was later marked as the first naturally selected Homo forastimor. She grew up in the Albany vicinity. Related to Oliver Moore, Gaia Moore has always been under close watch since Oliver Moore took knowledge of Gaia Moore's difference between H. sapiens. Gaia Moore entered the New York State foster children program at the age of twelve when Katia Moore (mother) died and her father returned to work for the CIA. Gaia was moved into 7 separate families during her 6 year long enlistment of the Foster Care program. She graduated from high school and entered Stanford University; she was in her top ten class recently and now has a position with the FBI as a Special Agent.**

**Gaia Moore is skilled in Kung Fu, Karate, Judo, Jujitsu, and muay thai, perfect aim, box, wrestle, and throw a 175 pound man over her shoulder, and that's only her physical state. Mentality shows that she can break codes in four languages and has an IQ of about 162; she is part Russian, and Ukrainian.**

**Gaia stopped reading, what the hell was Homo forastimor? And as if her question was expected, several links in the bottom followed through:**

**What is a Homo forastimor?**

**Homo forastimor is a newly discovered species; in 1988 Gaia Moore was diagnosed to have a mutation in her DNA that lacked the ability to respond to a mutual feeling/emotion; fear. Mutations are generally unhealthy in DNA, like Down syndrome, Autism, Bi Polar disease, etc…. Scientists regarded her mutation as a disease.**

**In 1994 a second mutation was found in another subject; Galina Godunov was diagnosed to have the same mutation in her genetic makeup. In 1999 Valentina Narevuh was diagnosed with the same mutation.**

**Scientists debate that this mutation is an affect of Natural Selection, a hot button issue that most scientists praise to be the way of life contrasted to Creationism. Other scientists do not agree, believing that this is simply a disease, rather than an evolutionary development.**

**Homo forastimor**

**Homo forastimor would be the latest relative of the Homo sapien, Homo meaning human, or person, and sapien meaning wise man, has occupied Earth for about 200,000 years. First originating in Africa, H. sapiens have a highly developed brain capable of abstract reasoning, language, and introspection. Now a H. forastimor shares many of the similar characteristics of a H. sapien, but forastimor; meaning without fear, is just that. It is a person, or human without fear. Humans don't usually **_**have**_** fear, but the ability to **_**feel**_** it yes, scientists argue that fear is an advantage over one who can't feel it, because it can be motivation to escape to safety.**

**Over a long time of debating, the Central Intelligence Agency has finally added Homo forastimor to the list of species under the Homo genus. Homo forastimor is un-announced to most of the public. But the CIA has acknowledged its existence before Gaia Moore was born, Marilia Borodin was diagnosed with a lack-of-fear mutation in 1889. Aecia Dokuchaev was also diagnosed with the lack-of-fear mutation in 1913, as well as Paola Gravok in 1925, Vitaly Ivanenko in 1959, and Inga Wingek in 1971. **

**So far all of the people that have been diagnosed with the lack-of-fear mutation have been female and of Russian descent, none of these females have any direct relation. But because they are of Russian descent this encourages the theory of natural selection, because that would mean that all of these women could probably share a common ancestor.**

**In 2001 Paola Gravok, Vitaly Ivanenko, and Inga Wingek were listed to the small population count of Homo forastimors, there was not enough credential support to add Aecia Dokuchaev until a year later in 2002. Marilia Borodin is now the only patient to have suffered from lack-of-fear mutation.**

**Like chromosomes and genes that come together, every few generations certain genes meet that can cause a mutation, that's what has happened with all of the subjects listed disregarding Marilia Borodin.**

**Characteristics of Homo forastimors**

**The characteristics of H. forastimors can be compared to an enhanced human, a human with an abnormally high IQ, and an abnormally super healthy metabolism.**

**Vitaly Ivanenko is a perfect model of these characteristics, she was one of the brightest professors of her time, but unlike other forastimors, she was the first to enhance her body, other forastimors walk around without knowing that they are a completely different species, but Vitaly Ivanenko stood out.**

**One may say that she might have been the one to bring light to this new species, because she succeeded in mental and physical obstacles during her lifetime, Vitaly Ivanenko can now be looked under Adventurers, even though she was an aristocrat. Vitaly Ivanenko was lost during a two week trip to the Ural Mountains. She had been left behind and in a day had actually cached up to the team, but missed them and continued the tour herself, she ended up getting to the tour's Camp Meet first and later documented how she survived in the great mountains by herself.**

Gaia couldn't help but open her mouth. She felt as if this explained it all, as if maybe this might just be why she always felt different, she _was_ different, she was an entirely new species! But suddenly she felt ignored, almost pushed aside, why didn't anyone tell her this? Why didn't anyone let her know? This was something bigger than a mutation, she was part of a revolutionary break through, Homo sapiens were finally revolutionizing, and she was one of the first! Well not entirely, there was already Marilia Borodin, Aecia Dokuchaev, Paola Gravok, Vitaly Ivanenko, Inga Wingek, Galina Godunov and Valentina Narevuh!

She looked at her hand, nothing different from everyone else's hands. In fact, even though she was taller than most of the females in the room, she couldn't see much of a physical difference, but then she saw that some of the other females in the room weren't build exactly alike, some of them didn't have the long tall structure, or skinny structure she had.

She glanced at the office her dad and Agent Rod had just entered, it seemed like they were done, she exited the page and her uncle's profile stared out at her once again. She knew that she needed to think about this before _they_ tried to talk to her about it, so for now she would keep this vital information to herself.

"Agent Rodriguez, we have a video feed!" Miller jogged towards Agent Rodriguez, and immediately people stirred and apprehension grew around the large confinement in desperation for anything new.

"Run it," Rodriguez yelled with surprising speed as he headed towards the center of the room. She stood up a little in the chair to see above the cubicle, and she wasn't the only one, many other heads and torsos were poking out from the tops of cubicles or doorways. She stood up straight and started heading towards the center of the room as well, a bit of a hop in her stride.

But then several screens around her changed from the CNN News channel to a street cam, it was far away, but as she had imagined it portrayed a busy traffic corner, and just in view was her uncle.

"Play it," Her father said as he too walked towards the center of the room. And the video displayed her uncle walking from one side of the fountain to the other, and then a woman shaking hands with him. They walked behind the fountain, and they were shortly kept from view.

"Fast forward it men!" Rodriguez spoke into the silence. And the tape speeded up and stopped abruptly as her uncle came back from view, there was her uncle again, talking to this brown haired woman. If only there was audio, she turned and looked at several of the people watching the tape as well, they were deeply focused, what were they doing? Trying to read lips? She turned around and stared into the mouths of the two subjects, there was no way _anyone_ could tell what they were saying from this far. They needed to focus on the subjects, but no one was doing anything yet, they were still watching.

She kept staring at the video, just a little bit of walking and talking, it seemed like they were going to part soon as her uncle stepped a few feet back. And then her uncle turned his head to look to his left, and just like that he was down, his body on the floor, the bullet that had impacted him had reached him from his left. Gaia's eyes widened a little bit, and she watched as the brown haired woman Oliver had been talking to reacted, she looked shocked, she went on her knees and checked her uncle's pulse, was he dead yet? It seemed like he was, and the woman's shoulders sagged up and down, she was crying! Who was this woman? Why did she care? And as a crowd started to gather she stepped back, she ran out throw the crowd and soon officers came from their stations.

Who was this woman? The question was like a marquee, who was this woman? Who would meet her uncle and cry at his passing? Did he say something to her? What did he say? What was she doing?

"We'll need to focus on that scene men, get to work!" Rodriguez exploded into the quiet and people started racing across the room going from one station to the other, she sat back down in her cubicle and looked around her, she needed to talk to someone, she glanced at her father who was talking with Rodriguez. She stood up and walked over to them.

"Hey," She said to them and they both looked up, "I'm going, to go get a breath of fresh air." She said.

"That's fine Gaia," Her dad said quickly and they got back to talking to each other.


	7. Chapter 6 Was It Nostalgia

Gaia was feeling disoriented, her heart was pounding hard, and her mind was racing.

Was Oliver really dead? When she was younger she would've done anything to see Oliver dead, even kill him herself, but now she was feeling a different reaction to his death. Was it sadness, or was it nostalgia? It couldn't be, she had never grown that close to him. As she stepped out of the pub that posed as the disguise to the CIA headquarters, rain started pouring and she started to laugh, it was just her luck--she had never had any good luck in her life.

In fact it was typical for her to finally be having a normal life, spending time with her dad, having fun, enjoying herself, and then have something like this happen. Something to ruin it.

She started walking to her old haunts, feeling her feet guide her while her mind was in another place. She couldn't help think of the women that had cried for her uncle, the woman who had been touched by his death, someone that genuinely cared.

That's when she realized what she was feeling, she too had genuinely cared, the tears started flooding her eyes, she was starting to feel the moans rising in her throat, she was breaking down. She reached the entrance to Washington Square Park and ran to the nearest bench, she looked around, she wasn't alone, there were some college guys and homeless men sitting at the chess tables, they weren't playing, they were just talking amongst themselves. She stopped crying, or at least tried to, the tears were still rolling down her face against her will.

She was crying because she realized that Oliver had actually been manipulated by some of the greatest influences in life; knowledge, money, and power. All becoming a mechanism for more evil. She now saw him for what he really was, a victim. He had wanted to become fearless, like herself. But there was no way that could be possible--she wasn't just fearless, she was an entire new species, the transformation seems merely impossible. The rain started pouring harder, thunder roared so loud that the men by the chesstables stampered off to find shelter. She wanted to express herself, she needed to get the emotions she was harboring out. She was in New York, the one place she had missed the most, and not just because she loved the city itself, but because the person she had once loved and trusted like no other was also here. Ed.

But she couldn't just jump back into his life, it would be intrusive, and the fact was that he probably wanted nothing to do with her. She wished she had Ed's companion so she could tell him what's happened and how she felt. But she stopped the wishful thinking, there was no way she could just have life return to the way it was. Ed was a person of the past, a character in chapters of her life that had long passed, there's no way she could drag him back. She got up and started walking to the hotel, her life was such an ongoing mess.

When Gaia turned the corner she noticed that there were two men behind her, not necessarily following _her_, but these guys clearly weren't together. The bulkier guy was tailing the college guy. She looked at the street, there was no one on it except them, and with it being a Sunday, the shops had already closed. As she walked she passed an alley, she could see what was going to happen next almost as if she had already watched it in a movie. She could hear their body movements, the college guy's steady pace, and Mr. Bulky's shuffle as he fastened his speed. It seemed like her life was destined to be a repeating movie reel of badguys trying to take down good guys, while she stepped in to put a stop to it.

She felt the adrenaline in her veins increase as she heard Mr. Bulky take a deep breath, time seemed to turn into slow motion, her steps were so light she herself could barely hear them. She was audibly invisible. As her posture straightened, she heard what could only be a man being taken down.

"Hey!"

She turned around to see the college guy on the ground looking up at Bulky.

"Give me your wallet!"

"Are you kidding me? I'm not giving you my wallet!" The guy stood up and he assumed a fighting stance, but this was what Bulky did for a leaving and he knew how to beat the bloody pulp out of a guy, specially one that was so young.

"I _said_, _GIVE ME YOUR WALLET!_" Bulky said with a meaner tone. Gaia walked slowly to the scene. Bulky pushed the college guy into the alley, the college guy took a swing at him, and before he knew it, Bulky started kicking him, he knelt down to reach into the guy's jacket.

"Hey!" Gaia yelled. Bulky looked up at her, it was a glance. He then continued searching for the wallet.

"Hey leave him alone!" Gaia yelled, she ran to him and Bulky straightened up, he was planning to stick her one right in the face. She dodged to her right and pushed him on the ribs, _hard._

He fell to the floor, she had knocked the wind out of him. He looked surprised, a look she had seen on unsuspecting muggers before.

"Hey, thanks a lot, but get out of here, this is too dangerous!" The college guy was straightening up, his hair was standing up on the side. She rolled her eyes, and as Bulky himself got up, the college guy got in front of her. She knew it was supposed to resemble chivalry, but when Bulky swung at college guy she knew a replay was coming. She pushed college guy to the ground, grabbed Bulky's arm, and flipped him. Bulky wasn't having it though.

"You've got tricks girly, and I don't wanna hurt ya, so just get out of here before I take your wallet too!" Bulky said as he got up.

"Sure, go ahead, try me," She smirked. Bulky got mad, he certainly wasn't going to let a girl show him up. He ran to her in full force, she performed a back kick which struck him directly on his head causing him to land head first.

"Hey! What's going on here?" Gaia and college guy turned around to see what could only be a bigger version of Bulky, no doubt a friend.

At that moment Bulky took her down, while Bulky 2 ran towards college guy. Bulky's weight was immense, he probably weighed 3 times what Gaia weighed. He was holding her head and right arm down, with his knee tucked deep into her lower back. College guy ran towards Bulky to push him off her, at that moment Bulky 2 got a hold of college guy and started punching him. Gaia stood up like lightning and grabbed Bulky 2 by the hair and pummelled him to the wall, Bulky ran at her and she did a spin as she kicked him on the chest. Bulky 2 grabbed Gaia's feet, she fell and Bulky 2 got the opportunity to punch her on the side of the head which made her feel like she had fallen down a really big cliff. College guy then stepped in and started punching Bulky 2, Bulky 1 was still trying to fight and he charged to Gaia and started kicking her. _It was a cowardly move_, she thought. She grabbed his foot and twisted it, causing him to fall. _Cowards will receive what they deserve_, she thought while standing up and kicking him near his collarbone. Bulky was knocked out.

College guy seemed to be doing himself more harm than good, he was getting his eyes pummeled by Bulky 2, she grabbed Bulky 2's shoulders and pulled him off college guy. He grabbed her by the arms and shoved her to the ground, he swung at her but she dodged the punch as she got up, she elbowed him in the face-spun to punch him-and did a roundhouse kick.

They were both out, the Bulkies were both lying down unconciously, college guy stared at her. His features were all displaying awe, her knees gave out beneath her.

"Are you ok?" College guy ran towards her.

"Yeah.. I'm just, tired," She managed to say, she tried to get a leg up again but only failed to do so, she was about to land on her face when college guy grabbed her.

"Do you want me to call an ambulance?" He asked her.

"No, just, I'll be fine."

"But you're looking pretty banged up," He said.

"_No hospitals._ I just gotta-" The words never left her mouth as she knocked out.

**Ed**

When Gaia had left, it seemed like the following six months of my life was like rehab.

You see when she left that night, the realization of what was happening wasn't hitting me, I really didn't think that she was going to be leaving. I knew something terrible had happened, and that she was different. But I never thought that she was seriously leaving.

The next day it was all over the paper, Jake Montone had been murdered and there was no evidence as to how he died. He became one of those stories you hear on the news of cold case murders that never get solved, and they're even more tragic because he was so young and talented, he could've aspired to be anything he wanted to be.

I looked for Gaia at all of her favorite hangouts and asked several of the guys at the park to let me know if they see her but they never did see her, or if they did they never told me.

Eventually I would wander on for hours around the city hoping to see her, and I mean it, _hours_. It was all I would do. Everyday I would wander off and walk around the city like a zombie, I would wander to places that I had never even see her go in to, but I would do it because all of the places she would usually be at she just wasn't at. But then after a month of stalking the city, I became upset because I knew I wouldn't find her anywhere. So then I just stayed home, I would just occupy myself with Internet articles, the newspapers, and television. I knew that if I went out to look for her I would just end up being disappointed because she wouldn't be there, and then I became paranoid of leaving the house in case she came up on the news. It sounds bad, right?

Well it got even worse, I had received my acceptance letter to NYU but I wasn't even interested in going. My mom was the one who forced me to go to registration, isn't that pathetic? I had become a cripple _after_ the wheelchair was gone, I can't help but laugh at that thought.

But once I started school, the old me started to come back. I started occupying myself with classes, homework, projects, everything that I did revolved around school. Eventually I met Bailey, she really helped me come out of it. She was the rebound that I needed, but I wasn't that ready to date anyone at all yet. Bailey gave me the signs all the time, I knew that she liked me and I knew that I liked... her company. It wasn't until three months into school that I was finally moving into what a normal life could possibly be like, I still thought about Gaia everyday, but not twenty-four seven like before.

Once I started dating Bailey, everything changed. She made me go out to parties, hang out with people, entertain myself... she compelled me to do _something_.

But now I feel like bringing up Gaia wasn't the right thing to do, talking about Gaia makes her more real, it makes me miss her like I haven't done in a long time because she was really _real_-she's not just some figment of my imagination.

Gaia left me without closure, and all I wish is to have some.


	8. Chapter 7 The Italians

Gaia stirred, her body was aching. _Damn, I must have taken more falls than what I thought._ That's when the memories of the fight flooded her brain. She had been knocked down to the ground at least four times, and both of those times hard. She took a deep breath and moved her head, _ahh that hurts too_ she thought as her neck ached, she felt cold and wetness. She reached to her neck and felt an ice pack. She took another deep breath and smelled an attractive odor, what was it? Perfume?

She opened her eyes and found herself in a dark room, she was laying on a bed, in a room that seemed very familiar, it was almost like she'd been there before. Where the hell was she?

She sat up and looked out the window, it was already dark outside, probably just after sunset hour. She suddenly realized where she was, she was at the dorms at NYU, the particular dorm she was in reminded her of Sam's old dorm room. This one was very different though, there were two windows on either side of the bed which was centered, and the room's decoration was completely different, posters of Albert Einstein, the United Nations, and the World Wide Foundation covered one side of the room, the other side appeared to be a shrine dedicated to the Chicago Bears and the Chicago White Sox. What she had smelled appeared to be cologne, she got out of the bed and looked around hoping to spot a clock. She walked towards the door and turned on the light switch, mounted on the top of the bed was a Chicago Bears clock, it was already eight thirty. She must have been knocked out for at least three hours, then at that moment the door ripped open, she glanced sharply and standing there was college guy.

"You're awake," He said, "I noticed the second I saw the light on, I hope you're feeling better."

"I am, thank you, you know you didn't have to bring me here," She said to him.

"Well, I wasn't going to leave you in the alley," He said with a smile, "What if those guys had friends that came along? Forget about it, I got you out of there."

"That's very nice of you," She said, but in reality she was annoyed, she would've rather been left in the alley, "_Thank you._"

"No thank you's, I should be the one thanking _you_, you managed to get _me_ out of there with my wallet," He said to her.

"Well, I'm just hoping to teach those guys a lesson," She said, "I've got to go though."

"Wait, don't leave yet, what's your name?" He said to her, she rushed passed him out the door.

"Wait!" The guy said once more, she couldn't wait however, she wasn't the type to make friends and try and get to know one another. In fact she was far from it, the less people knew of her the better. She ran out the trashy commons room and down the stairs.

_FEARLESS: THE REST OF THE STORY_

Tom was getting worried, he had called Gaia over two hours ago and she didn't pick up. He was just about to call the hotel room again when he felt his cellphone vibrate, it was a text message.

To: Dad

From: Gaia

Dad, sorry I didn't pick up your call, I had been sleeping.

He let out a sigh before texting her back, letting her know that he probably wouldn't make it back to the hotel until the follolwing morning.

The day had been long and it still wasn't over, the media had picked up on Oliver's identity and was revealing several of Oliver's past threats to national security. Tom wasn't necessarily feeling offended, he himself thought Oliver brung everything he received upon himself-after all, Oliver had brought a lot of misery to Tom's life. Tom's cellphone vibrated again.

To: Dad

From: Gaia

I'm not waiting at the hotel like a sitting duck, I'm outside the pub, let me in.

Tom chuckled, it was just like Gaia to come back and investigate some more.

"Tom where you going?" Agent Rodriguez asked him as he got up.

"Gaia is on her way in, I'm going to go clear her," He said as he stepped into the elevator, Rodriguez had been examining the file of a person of interest that might have been who accompanied Oliver.

He stepped out of the elevator, the receptionists who had been there earlier were gone and replaced with different women.

"Agent," the receptionist nodded to Tom, she presented him with a fingerprint scanner, he pressed his index finger on it.

"Thank you... agent Moore," The receptionist said as she cleared the lock on the door. It slid open to reveal Gaia standing there, she had changed her clothes to a more professional atire, but she somehow looked very tired.

He nodded towards Gaia and they entered the elevator, once again it zoomed up, down, and for a second almost stayed still without moving. He didn't know what floor he was on, that's something the receptionists knew, they were the ones who selected their destination once aboard the elevator.

"So tell me, what's been going on?" Gaia asked Tom.

"Well we have several persons of interests that are being proposed to Oliver's female companion," He said. "In fact Rodriguez thinks it might actually be connected to an Italian case that appeared on radar a couple of months ago."

"What was that case about?" Gaia asked as the elevator door slid open.

"Come here, follow me into the office," Tom proceeded to a room and closed the door after Gaia.

"This case has a history that goes back much longer than the time that _you_ were born," He said as he pointed to her. "During world war two, there were many families that battled political groups like the Nazis and the fascists, they were the _Resistenza._ The fascists and political families all alike had grown in wealth during the short time they had control, however after Hitler's fall from power, Mussolini and the fascists too fell. Some of the fascists who managed to escape the war crime trials were found not by the authorities, but by some of the angry members of the _resistenza._ The _resistenza_ took advantage of the wealth that the fascists had accumulated, and robbed them. They stole precious works of art belonging to Picasso, Van Gogh, and some surviving artifacts that belonged to Beethoven." He turned from her and gave her the file sitting on the desk.

"Just recently their head of the family passed away, the widow of Alejandro Sergio Mancini, Mrs. Francesca Catalina Mancini, died of a heart attack at the young age of 53, she is survived by five children. The oldest, Catalina Inez Mancini has long since disappeared from the radar after running away from home when she was 15, however she has popped up in different circuits of Italian mafia families in Europe. Karla Vivianna Mancini is the second oldest, however she is now married and is not associated with any of her family's historical business. Alejandro Sergio Mancini the second lives with his fiance in Italy but is a made man working with Italian Mafias in the United States, and in Europe. Catalina's fourth and fifth children were twins, Katrina Francesca, and Pablo Alberto Mancini."

"So where all those two kids at now?" Gaia asked.

"Well, this is where all the problems begin, Catalina and Karla appear to not be involved with the Italian Mafias that her father used to run, however Alejandro definitely took after his father-"

"But how did Alejandra the first die?" Gaia interrupted.

"He had been gunned down outside his home," He said, "By who we don't know. But Alejandra Jr. took over all the work his father had left behind, however this had upset some of the other made men, after all Jr. was just a kid and hadn't proved himself yet."

"So what happened, enemies were made?" Gaia asked.

"Exactly right, many made men slowly started disallying themselves with the onces closer to Alejandro. Before you know it, the Italian house had been split in two. Karla, Katrina, and Pablo did not approve of how Alejandro was running the business, for Italians to be against each other was a reckless move that was against everything Italian mafias worked for. Karla completely de-tached herself from her family, however Katrina and Pablo knew that they had no right to question Alejandro seeing as many of the only people who did try to defy him were put down. But they also didn't just stay put, both of them went rogue on their familes and they both work together." He paused to take another breath, "It was just about a year ago that it was well known that Katrina had been killed by Alejandro's orders, why? Well the answer could only lie within Alejandro himself, Pablo hasn't been heard from since. For a second, intelligence agencies across the nations paused to take a look at this situation, the staggering wealth that was left to all members of the family adds to their tremendous power and influence on national security."

"So what do they have to do with Oliver?" Gaia said to him.

"We believe that Karla might have been the one meeting Oliver," Tom said.

"But why? If after all these years she hasn't been involved with any type of criminal activity, why now?" Gaia asked him as she closed the file.

"We don't know," He said, he opened the file and took one of the photos out, "Come here." He got up and walked to the door.

"Look at this picture and look at the still in the screen," He said as he pointed to the woman in the screen. You could only see half of her face which was covered in tears, her face was distraught with grief.

_FEARLESS: THE REST OF THE STORY_

Gaia's eyes were deceiving her, the woman in the screen looked so familiar. What she was feeling was that feeling you get when you're watching a movie, or television program and you know you've seen that actor before but you just can't place them.

Gaia closed her eyes for a second, trying to remember where she had seen that woman before. She thought of all the faces she had seen since she was little, teachers, doctors, friends, acquaintaces, and even random people she saw in the streeet flooded her mind with images. But yet she wasn't coming up with an answer, for once her photographical memory was failing her.

"I'm going to do some research," She said.

"Sure," Her father said to her. She walked over to the empty desk she had been at earlier, she quickly tapped into the file system and started looking up Oliver's file.... Just like she had thought before, there was really nothing on this file that wasn't in the records at the FBI... except for the Homoforastimor file.

The thought of being a completely new species was still making her head spin, how could it be possible, to be so different from other people? From her father? She zoomed in on the picture of Oliver's companion, she was a dark brown haired woman, but she was tall, and looked thin even underneath the heavy jacket.... Beep. Beep.

To: Agent Moore

From: Agent Malloy

Locate to nearest FBI HQ **IMMEDIATELY**.

She cringed, no doubt the FBI wanted their prime Special Agent Moore to report and probably put her to work on their on case revolving Oliver. She stood up, ouch, her neck was still aching.


	9. Chapter 8 So Ordinary

After I went to FBI headquarters, they told me that they launched their own case surrounding Oliver's death, and I was going to be the executive chief. According to them collaboration with the CIA was not necessary, and in my case it was prohibited.

I am a Special Agent, meaning among other things that I have access to special files that the FBI doesn't necessarily let other agents cast their eyes on. It also means that the FBI trusts me to do their work, for now. I began digging into all of the Moore files, and just like I knew there were no files pertaining to myself in association with a new species. Or if there were, I don't have access to them and they certainly wouldn't show up in my search query.

I already knew the FBI had nothing that I could access regarding H. forastimors, but I had to try.

I keep wondering if my mom knew about me, I mean-me being a something completely different... something. After I left headquarters I started walking around the city in hopes to see something familiar, even another scumbag trying to take advantage of me. But I didn't find anyone, even the New York looks the same, I feel like it has changed since my days... or maybe I have changed. I'm trying to get to know the city that I once knew before.

I think about my old life constantly, and my old friends. Mary, Ed, Sam, Jake, and Heather come to mind all the time. I have to say that I wander the city hoping to meet Ed, hoping to see him. If by any coincidence he was still in the city I would love to meet with him and catch up on everything about my life since I left New York, but there are no coincidences in my life. Or at least I'm starting to believe that, I believe more in manipulations now. After all, half of the people in my life have manipulated situations, relationships, and me into different circumstances that are... diabolical. After all aren't they?

When Loki wanted me to get close to him he wanted it so that he could become Fearless, something so extreme and a transformation that would have turned him into an even stronger monster than he already was.

That makes me question myself, what I am, and what my limit is.... Do I have limits?

Pablo looked at the screen and back at the portrait he had hanging on the wall, his eyes widened. He knew the woman in the screen, but it had to be a mistake. He hadn't seen Lina in years but yet he knew that was her, there was no mistaking her appearance.

He stood up and ran over to the phone.

"Yes Mr. Mancini."

"Jimmy, I want Lina on the phone now," He said.

"Yes sir, right away." Jimmy said. Pablo hung up the phone and paced back and forth, what the hell was she doing with Loki? What was she thinking, she had gotten into enough trouble already, and he thought he had already lost her once, and it had been so hard then, he cared about her so much. He walked to his desk and sat on his chair, his day had been so ordinary. He had gotten up at seven o'clock like always, gone out for a run, and stopped at the neighborhood coffee shop for a mocha before coming back home. Then he showered, and turned on the news. That's when the day became something else but ordinary; he had been finishing his mocha with breakfast when he saw Lina on the TV.

He flipped from news channel to another news channel, they were all covering the death of a mass murderer, and there on the screen was Elina. He threw the remote control on the floor as the phone rang.

"Is she on the line?" He asked.

"I'm sorry sir, it appears she isn't available," Jimmy said.

Pablo slammed down the phone, where was she? What was she doing? He had already lost Katrina, his best friend and sister; he wasn't ready to lose another person he loved.

He walked out of the study and down the hallway towards the spiral staircase, he walked into his room and ran for the closet, he threw all of his shirts and pants onto his bed while reaching for the phone.

"Yes sir?" Jimmy answered.

"Tell Francesca to come up here and put the clothes laid out in my bed in a suitcase, and you should pack as well Jimmy, we're going to New York."

Bailey had walked into class but instead of sitting in her usual seat in the front, she walked all the way to the back. Her intention had been to avoid all communication with everyone, but it caused the opposite effect on her teacher who kept prodding her with questions any chance she got.

She only had fifteen minutes left of this ridiculous class that she wished she hadn't signed up for, but it was part of her requirements for her degree so she needed it. She sensed another question coming from her teacher, in reality Bailey knew the answers; she had studied the chapter back and front in an effort to stop thinking about Ed.

But she couldn't stop thinking about him, he was the center of her life, she loved him and she hoped that he still loved her. But she felt that she was right, she had shared her whole life to Ed, told him everything about her life to him. She had a right to know all about his life...

She had been waiting for his apology, but he hadn't called, texted, emailed, or even shown his face since she seen him in the apartment. Claire said that he was still going to his classes, and that Mark told her that Ed and he were going to go to the Taco Diner later that day. She thought about showing up to the Taco Diner just to see how Ed would react and what he would do, but that would look very desperate.

"Seeing as we only have a couple minutes, but there is no work, you are dismissed," Mr. Williams said to them. "But don't forget! Your essays will be due a week from today!"

Bailey rolled her eyes, with all her free time she had already finished the essay. _Free _time-that was a term she hadn't used in a long time, why? Because she rarely _had _free time, she was always out and about; doing assignments was something she usually had to cram into her schedule. She was popular, she had friends-she had a _life._ But here she was instead; trying to find things to do to _pass_ the time resulting with it being _useless_. She put her book in the long beach bag she was carrying, and walked around the room in an effort not to walk near her teacher or any other students lingering by. She walked out the door in a fast pace, eager to get to her dorm room to check her email in hopes of seeing a new email from Ed.

She walked down the stairs to the main floor, she spotted several people she knew but didn't make eye contact. Instead she walked out of the building and headed towards the shortcut that would take her home faster, plus she was craving a cappuccino and if she hurried to the Café she could beat out all the other slower moving students who wanted to get some coffee.

She looked at her surroundings, there were many _other_ students rushing to classes or greeting friends, she noticed Janice Fonseca surrounded by all her friends over by the benches. In any other normal day she would've rushed over to gossip along with all of the other girls in the benches, but instead she was running to the café for a really needed cappuccino to give her company as she sulked home hoping to see any form of communication from Ed.

She was avoiding all of the eye contact in the world when she almost missed the man of the hour, she even walked into someone before stopping to notice Ed was jogging to the Med doors. She turned to look at him full frontal, but he didn't even notice her, she wondered why he was jogging since he still had three minutes to get to class, but then she realized that his class wasn't meeting in its normal spot they were meeting at the library. She wanted to stop him and demand to know why he hadn't called her, why he hadn't bothered to send her an email. She started marching his way.

But instead she stopped herself; that was _it._ Bailey never chased after anyone, and she never needed anyone. She was _not_ going to go home, she was going to stop at the café and then go shopping.


	10. Chapter 9 Girl Crap

GIRL CRAP

"So dude, I heard you and Bailey been having problems huh?" Mark said. Ed looked away; obviously Claire had shared the drama that was going on between Ed and Bailey.

"Yeah man, I don't know what's going to happen," He said, Ed looked out the window of the diner, teenagers and guys and girls all around were enjoying the nice weather, it was busy for a Thursday night.

"Well, you know, did you really, you know... call her another girl's name while you were doing her?" Mark asked him, Ed cringed. It really did sound terrible hearing it said by another person, but Ed wanted to talk to someone about it, he had been bottling it up for a couple days now, and Mark was trustworthy, even though his gossiping girlfriend wasn't, Mark was an all around keep-it-to-himself type of guy.

"I ain't gonna lie..." Ed said, he looked back to Mark and Mark frowned to him, but the frown turned into a grin.

"You ain't gonna lie but what?" Mark asked, Ed looked out the window and then looked back at Mark and smiled.

"No way dude you gotta be kidding me," Mark said and started cracking up, Ed laughed. From a guy's point of view it was pretty funny, but that didn't stop it from being messed up. "Ed-man, you gotta stop taking life so seriously, chicks are chicks, if you and Bailey ain't gon' work out then you just ain't going to. There's thousands of other girls in the world, don't be thinking like she the only one."

Ed nodded and grabbed a bite of his burrito, Mark always said stuff like that, which did make sense and it was something that Ed really needed to hear. He often took life too seriously.

"I like Bailey, don't get me wrong, but as a friend to _you_ I'ma give you the best advice I got, if you don't _love_ her no more, you ain't chained to her, take time to be with other girls," Mark said as he shoved his tacos down his throat.

"Thanks man, but I just don't want to hurt her feelings; maybe I should just end it you know? Before I dig a hole I can't get out of," He said and took another bite of his burritos.

"Look man, if I was you I would do it as soon as possible, cause you been with her for like two years, that's like _forever _in girl time," Mark said through a mouthful of tacos.

Ed didn't say anything, Mark was right, 2 years _was_ like forever in girl time. Ed had to face it, he liked Bailey, but if Bailey thought their relationship was going to get more serious than it already was, she was mistaken. And their relationship had been a good one, it didn't have to get ugly maybe someday they could be friends.

"Look at me, I been with Claire for like a year, but I sure as hell ain't gon' be with her for much longer," Mark said but this time without the tacos.

"Wait, you're telling me you know you're gonna break up with her?" Ed asked.

"Hell yeah, I've been planning to," Mark said as he sipped his coke.

"You have? What are you gonna say?" Ed asked.

"What do you mean? I'm going to tell her it's over," Mark said.

"Well, you know, like what are you gonna tell her is the reason you can't be together?" Ed explained, Mark sipped his coke a little more before responding.

"I don't have to have a reason," Mark said to him. "That's life man, if I don't want to be with someone, I don't _have_ to, it's like I said, we ain't chained to these girls."

"Man, you make a lot of sense," Ed said.

"_But_ if you want to give her a reason, just tell her it's you not _her_," Mark said to him.

"Alright… I'll try that one," He said.

"Look man, let me tell you a story, I was with this girl Brenda, and man I honestly thought I had fallen in love-mind you, this was during high school. I was a little kid, she was my first serious girlfriend and I thought we got along great. We rarely got into fights, when we were together we were almost never bored." Mark said. "When we were a year into it, I cheated on her, I went to this party, got super wasted, and I started making out with this _other_ girl. Personally, for me, my policy is that if you cheat you probably ain't worth being with. So I was grateful when she decided to stay with me. I mean, I thought that I was the luckiest bastard alive because I got to keep the woman I love. After that, things got super serious, we would talk about when we would get married, what our house would be like, what kind of dogs we would get... I mean, we only lasted like six months after that. I just didn't love her the same way, but I was too scared to hurt her feelings to tell her I didn't wanna be with her."

"So I take it you eventually left her," Ed said.

"It was that, or cheat on her again to and force her to dump my sorry ass," Mark said. "I figured I'll just end it, sure we'll be hurt, but the year after that she hooked up with my buddy Alex and he knocked her up.... That could've been me huh?"

Ed nodded in agreement; Mark made a lot of sense.

"Nah, you're right man, maybe I _should_ just live life more at ease," Ed said. "I should be vicious like you."

Mark looked up defensively, "Hey man, I might sound like a jerk, but I didn't make up these thoughts. I started thinking like this when I heard my mom tell my little sister to have a lot of boyfriends."

"Wait, your mom told your little sister to have a lot of boyfriends?" Ed asked.

"Yup," Mark mumbled through another taco, "She told Maria that she should have tons and tons of boyfriends, so she can realize that guys ain't worth anything and she can get another one by the snap of her fingers."

"Man you come from a wise family, all my mom told me was to treat em' right, and look how that's turning out," Ed said, damn bad advice, he was now too scared to break up with his girlfriend because he didn't want to feel guilty.

"Anyway, enough girl crap, dude I gotta tell you what happened to me the other day," Mark said as he finished his tacos.

"What happened to you?" Ed asked as he bit into his burrito.

"So I was at the park the other day right, it was bright as day out like around four o'clock, I was hanging out with Matt, Anthony, Danny, and them you know, their type of crowd, cause Danny owed me money," Mark said. "But it started raining, so we decided to just meet another day, so I'm walking back to the dorm right, when this guy pushes me into the alley and starts roughing me up asking me for my wallet. I'm thinking yeah right no way in hell I'm going to give him my wallet, Danny just paid me back the one-twenty he owed me. So I tell him, no way I'm giving you my wallet. So I'm fighting him and he's kicking me as I'm punching him, when this girl shows up"

"She's like hey, leave him alone right?" Mark nods to Ed, who had his undivided attention. "So she comes in, and pushes him off me. And Ed, this guy was big, I ain't afraid to look like a punk here, but she kicked his ass. You never see girls like that in Chicago. Specially _white_ girls!"

"Wait, what did this girl look like?" Ed asked imploringly, his heart was beating fast, this scenario sounded all too familiar.

"She was normal looking man, she didn't look like no body builder," Mark said.

"No, I mean, tall? Blonde?" Ed said, his heart was pounding so hard he was sure everyone in the diner could hear it.

"Yeah...." Mark said, he dropped his gaze.

"Yeah what?" Ed asked.

"Yeah man, I guess she might have been like 5'7 or 5'8, and blonde," Mark said with a thoughtful gaze.

"Well did she tell you her name?" Ed asked, wishing to hear Gaia's name come out of his mouth.

"No," Mark said, "She didn't really have a chance to."

"Why? Did she run away?" Ed asked.

"No, she fainted," Mark said, Ed felt like _he_ was going to faint now, because he was definitely believing it now, it _had_ to have been Gaia. "She told me not to take her to the hospital, so I took her to my dorm; I checked her vitals you know? Heartbeat, temp... I put an ice pack in the back of her neck cause she got pummeled pretty bad...."

"And then what?"

"Well she woke up like two and a half hours later, she slept a lot. But as soon as she woke up she left, didn't wait for me to get her name, or even for me to take her home, I don't know, pretty crazy day." Mark said with a tired look on his face.

"Yeah, must have been," Ed said, but his head was driving him crazy, Gaia was back in New York, she had to have been, there was no other tall blonde on Earth that could beat up guys twice her size, and subsequently always passed out after the fight.

"Hey man, I gotta go, thanks for the advice," Ed said as he got up.

"Yeah sure, no problem man," Mark said as he nodded to him. "Later!"

"Later man!" Ed said as he ran out the door.

DAMN BUSINESS

Gaia wasn't sure what to make of the assignment she had been given.

According to the FBI they were sure that the woman in the video was Karla Mancini, but unlike the CIA they weren't going to wait for some form of confirmation. They were sending Gaia and her newly appointed partner John Perry to several New York City homes under which _any_ Mancini had their name slapped on. Gaia was getting used to the whole _partner_ thing, but the only thing she had a problem with was the actual partners she got assigned to. Take John for example, he was just as new as her, but he was cocky which added a little bit of arrogance to his personality. Not to mention that his dirty blonde hair made her want to shave it all off, he wore it in an old Bond style; slicked back but with just a little bit too much grease. She tried to appear professional and completely serious, but every now and then she had to smirk at his hair, it was too distracting for the job.

"So where should we hit up first?" John asked her as he handed her the list of addresses they had been given."

"I say we hit this one, it's the only location that isn't in a high class neighborhood, it seems a suspicious place for a Mancini to be at don't you think?" Gaia remarked.

"I wouldn't know, I don't know anything about New York," John said to her, "The GPS is my friend."

"Well let me type in the address," Gaia said as she reached for the GPS, "It's an Italian neighborhood, but it's not deep enough to be near the action, it's a perfect place to escape any attention and also feel comfortable."

"So how is it _you _know so much about New York? You from here?" He asked her.

"Yes, I guess so, I came here during my high school years," She said as she finished looking up the location on the map. "But I rarely ventured into the Italian neighborhoods."

"So what-"

"Where are _you_ from John?" Gaia cut him off, questions were to be avoided.

"Me? Oh I'm from the good ol' U.S. of A. I lived in Florida when I was a kid, moved to Texas after my parents divorced, and then found my own way in Seattle when I got older," John said to her.

"So... how did you get involved with the FBI?" She asked.

"Well after I graduated in Seattle, I had many offers, all of them were exciting, I could've gone to UCLA with a football scholarship, or gone to Yale; full ride paid." John said like as if he was recalling memories from a long time ago. "But I decided to go with the FBI because I wanted my life to be exciting, nothing ordinary."

"Oh, that's cool," _Very professional Gaia,_ she almost smirked; she wasn't as into this conversation as John might be, especially because he liked talking about himself.

"But... how about you?" John asked her.

"Well, my life wouldn't feel right if I wasn't doing this," She said, it was an honest statement, to the point, and simple. No need to start with all the emotional crap.

"But I heard you were specially chosen for this case," John pointed out.

"Look, I'm sure you've read the files," She said as she rolled her eyes, "What is it that you might not know that you want to know?"

She knew she had been aggressive and impatient, even sounding annoyed, but if it bothered John he didn't show it. He might have been prepared for it because that didn't stop him from asking more questions.

"What I want to know is, if you feel that this case is important to you because Moore was your uncle, or if this case is important to you because you're so important," John looked at her, his brown eyes were brave.

Gaia stared back, not sure what to make of his disrespect. But she definitely had an answer for him.

"And that is your damn business how?" She replied coldly, her blue eyes staring right back. He looked away and pulled over in front of the Mancini house, _thank god_, Gaia thought.

HOW AMERICAN

Pablo had been searching the apartment looking for any clue of where Catalina might be, when he heard the knock at the door. He froze; he was trying to recall if he had made any type of noise while he had been skulking around the apartment.

"Ms. Mancini open up!" A man's voice said. Pablo had two choices, the first was to be completely silent and ignore them with the hopes that they would leave. He heard murmuring outside the door before he heard a female voice.

"Ms. Mancini it's the authorities!" The female voice said as he contemplated the second choice, which would be to open up and face whoever was at the door. He wondered if they had warrants, if they did they would find him inside the apartment anyway. He also wondered if he had any outstanding warrants... He pondered that thought and was sure that he didn't.

"I'm coming!" He shouted, he didn't have much to hide and also didn't have any warrants.

He opened the door and two suits were standing there, both of them _blonde_. How American, he thought before the male began speaking.

"Hello we're with the FBI we were under the understanding that Karla Mancini—"

"_She_ is not in, is there anything I can help you with?" He asked them.

"Mr. _Pablo _Mancini, if I'm not correct? My name is Special Agent Moore—"

"_Moore_?" He asked her again, not sure of what to make of her, as in _Gaia Moore?_ He had heard of her before, but never met her.

"_Yes_, I just have some questions regarding Ms. Mancini's whereabouts; do you know where we could locate her? She doesn't traditionally stay here? Or...?" Special Agent Moore trailed off, it was probably because Pablo was giving her a good stare down. She was young, tall, had natural blonde hair that was pulled back, blue eyes, freckles that flooded her nose, and had a stance that showed off her calves and leg muscles.

"Karla doesn't usually stay here this is more of a little cozy home away from home that _I_ use," He finally responded.

"So can you let us know where we can find Karla?" The other agent asked.

"Karla's not even in the states," Pablo responded.

"Is that so?" Moore asked him. She was trying to test him to check if he was lying. He rolled his eyes at her and shuffled his feet, these agents were _boring_ him.

"That is definitely so, if that's all you wanted to know then I think we're done here," Pablo said.

"Actually I wanted to ask you, why is it that you Mr. Mancini are occupying this apartment?" Special Agent Moore asked.

"Well Ms. Moore we are all family, we choose to vacation in all of our family owned homes," He responded. "But I have a question for_ you_ Ms. Moore, are you _Gaia_ Moore?"

He assumed the answer was yes, because her eyes got wide and she had an expression that expressed annoyance. Why should she get mad? He thought, it's not like he got mad when she figured out who he was.

"I think we are done here," And with that she and her partner turned around and stormed down the stairs. He stared after them and wondered why they seemed so turned off, maybe if he had recognized the other one they would both be in a good mood, _whatever_, he thought. He slammed the door shut and got back to searching the apartment. The fact was that an appearance by Gaia Moore who was the niece of Loki was not a good sign, and he was definitely going to look up later if she really was an FBI agent. But for now, he had to return to the apartment and find Lina, if she was in this apartment, and if she was scared, she would be in only one place.

He entered the main bedroom, if he remembered correctly the reason why he had chosen this particular apartment for his sister was because it was a three bedroom apartment, and he had the opportunity to close one of those apartments off and build a panic room. He shuffled through the closet and looked for the keypad on the back, _one, six, nine, one_. A small opening of a door slid open and when he looked in Catalina was laying there, her eyes were puffy and it looked like she had been crying.

"Pablo!" Catalina said as he rushed in and hugged her.

"Lina! Where have you been? And what's wrong?" He said as he hugged her.

"I _know_ why you're here Pablo, you saw me on that clip that's been all over the news since... Since Oliver died," Lina said as she broke into tears. "I got back to New York that same day; I drove and drove without sleep until I got here. Then I saw the clip on the news the next day, and I was scared someone might recognize me so I ended up just hiding out here."

"Lina, what were you thinking? After everything? After all that I've been through to get you out of Loki's deals—"

"Stop! He needed my help, and he's not Loki anymore!" Lina cried.

"You know who was _just_ here?" Pablo asked her.

"Who?" Lina asked through her tears.

"Gaia Moore," He said.

"Gaia?" Lina asked, "When?"

"Just now! Like five minutes ago! She's so close to finding you, and if she finds you—"

"How is she?" Lina cut him off.

"She's... I guess okay, she's more like, I don't know, she seems like a delicate person, like anything can piss her off," He said now that he thought about it.

"I miss her... I mean if you think about it I think I really grew to care about her," Lina said.

"That's great Lina... but right now you gotta get up and wash up, you're coming with me."

VISIT: FEARLESS37 . WEBS .COM


	11. Chapter 10 Vaseline

**"What do you mean you want a new partner?" Agent Elkins asked her. Gaia had to prevent herself from rolling her eyes or taking an impatient breath.**

"I don't feel like we work well together—"

"Moore! Partners aren't like shoes! You don't put on a new pair everyday and you definitely can't be telling me all this _feeling_ crap, I don't want to hear it! You haven't been partners for more than a week! Out!" Elkins roared. She cringed as he pointed out the door, she didn't want to sound like a complainer but she couldn't help herself, even though she had came on strong the first week and told John to mind is own damn business, he still pissed her off. Ever since the day they had interviewed Mancini he seemed to make remarks to her _status_, trying to make it sound like as if she were _famous_. It's not like she ever made remarks about his hair… well ok every once in a while she asked him if he finished his bottle of Vaseline yet.

Elkins was fuming; it had been a week since they had interviewed Mancini, and no sightings of Karla had been reported in the US but the FBI didn't have grounds to go to Italy without proves that it _actually_ was Karla in the video. Gaia was getting tired of the FBI; she wanted to transfer to the CIA where they _did_ have grounds to go overseas, but among other things, she wanted to work with her dad on this together….

She paused outside Elkin's office; John was in his office on the phone. Maybe she should talk to him and try to make it work, and after all she would have to if Elkins refused to change her partner. She watched as he nodded his head and hung up the phone.

She walked over to his office, closed the door behind him and pulled a chair next to him.

"Hey," She said to him. He gave her a second's look and then continued typing, _great_, she thought,she was going to have to put in her A effort for this to work, no bullshit.

"John, I don't want to get off on the wrong foot here. I mean, we're partners, and if we have to work together, then we should cooperate, know what I'm saying?" She asked, he stopped typing and slowly turned to look at her.

"Gaia, I don't need _you_ to be my partner, but since obviously you're making an effort, then I'll accept you're apology and we can start over," John said.

"But I wasn't apologizing, I don't have anything to apologize for," She said to him. His nostrils seemed to fume a little bit.

"Gaia, you're _behavior_—"

"_My_ behavior?" She almost yelled at him, _he_ was the one with all the stupid comments and childish behavior.

"I'm not the one who just had a meeting with Elkins requesting a new partner!" John said.

"How do _you_ know I was—"

"Roberts heard Elkins," John said and turned away from her.

"Hey!" She grabbed John by the arm and turned him around.

"Hey watch it!" John grabbed her arm and attempted to twist it, she pulled his grasp away and did an old-school maneuver; she grabbed his hand, locked her thumb on his, and pushed.

"Shit!" He said as he tried to push her off. But she wasn't easy to get rid of; she grabbed his other arm and squeezed the crap out of it. But John wasn't all Vaseline; he hooked her arm to her back and slammed her chest on the desk. This time she was pissed, no one slams her on anything without payback. She let go of his other arm and grabbed a hold of his hair and slammed it on the keyboard. They were both pressing their faces on the desk, and looking ridiculous.

"Let go!" She breathed.

"You let go first!" He whispered amidst all of the pressure being forced on his face.

"Damn it!" She said, what were they little kids? She let go of him and he let go of her, she looked at the side of his face she had slammed, it was super red, she caught a glimpse of her own face on the mirror in the corner, her face was _also_ pink. Why in the hell did she put up with this bullshit? What she did was something out of emotion she hadn't felt since her high school days, since the days of terror Heather Gannis used to inflict upon her. She punched John squarely on the jaw, his expression was surprise and his facial expression clearly said _what the fuck?_

She waited for him to do something, to slap her, punch her, maybe even push her; but he was just staring at her.

"Who do you think you are? Some sort of big shot? Just because you were Thomas Moore's daughter doesn't make you any better than us!" He said to her. Gaia was flabbergasted; she wasn't sure what to say, who was he to try and tell her that she got her job easily, he didn't know anything about her life or what he had gone through.

"_Excuse me? Maybe the Vaseline is sinking into your skull!"_ She couldn't help herself, she felt like she was going to explode. She stood up accidentally knocking down the chair behind her, "You _really_ don't know anything about me! You're the last person in the world that should even be judging me!"

"Really? You think so? At least I actually worked _hard_ to get to where I am I didn't just get the job handed to me!" John yelled at her as he got to his feet.

Gaia wasn't sure where this guy was coming from, but this was getting out of control, if their tones got any louder the whole building might be able to hear them. She turned away from John towards the door, she wasn't sure if she should even keep trying to put up with this guy.

"I don't know what the hell you're pulling out of your ass, but when you solve your issues then you can call me." She turned around and walked out of the office with confusion masking her thoughts.

**John watched as Gaia walked down the hallway, her blonde hair flying behind her like a yellow breeze. His anger had finally boiled over into what turned out to be an emotional breakdown; he could still feel all of the blood pumping throughout his face. He felt hot, not cool like he usually was.**

He walked out the door in a hurried pace towards the bathroom, he looked around the room and noticed that Roberts was looking at him with a question on his face. John shook his head at him and went into the restroom; he locked the door behind him. He turned on the faucet and splashed cold water onto his face; he was trying to calm himself down.

He couldn't mess up on the job; this case could make his career and elevate him to field work. He could run cases by his own rules, have agents reporting to _him_. He was on the fast lane to success; his whole life had been a struggle with late luck, if he hadn't been chosen valedictorian for his high school class he would have never been seen by the Yale representative, who later on introduced him to Agent Elkins. The good thing about Elkins was that he was running the Loki case, which meant that he would run it fair and by the letter. However he had assigned Gaia as John's partner only to be helpful, hoping that the collaboration would help improve John's career. But ever since the case had started, he kept hearing nonstop Gaia Moore glorification. It seemed like everyone loved the tragic story that became her life after her mother died, and everyone loved the fact that even when Gaia fell she rose gracefully back up.

John was humble enough to understand that things don't always go your way, no matter how hard you try. But it had been a while since he had met someone he disliked so much like he disliked Gaia, but John was a hard worker, he could make it work.

With, or without Gaia.

SMS

To: Bailey

From: Ed

We need to talk. Can you meet me at Washington Square Park around six on Saturday?

SMS

To: Eddy

From: Bailey

I'll be there.

John's POV

I would like to think that I grew up an honest life; I was born in South Beach, spent my childhood in Houston, and then helped my mother move on from my asshole father in Seattle.

But that's all the short version of it.

My childhood was normal, for the most part. My parents were good, for the most part. My family was great, for the most part. So for the most part, my life has been normal, good, and great.

But that's all the short version of it.

Before I start with other details of my life that will just end with a short version of it, I think I should just start with my life in full version.

Growing up in South Beach was great because that was when my parents were the happiest; they used to take me to the beach all the time. They would plan family vacations for my older brother and I, we would always be together enjoying new experiences.

Then we moved to Houston when my dad lost his job, he became a roofer and worked hard every day to bring us bread. One day he fell off one of the roofs he was working on and broke his leg, I was little I must have been six so I can't remember all the full details of his injury. I _do_ remember that he had screws and bolts in his knee and ankle for some weird reason, I remember because I used to think it was the coolest thing on Earth.

But that was the last thing I found cool from my dad, after he broke his leg he started selling cocaine as an alternative to reel in cash. My dad was busted a year and a half later by an undercover cop, I was eight when my dad was thrown in jail for four years. When I was ten my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, I was too little to understand then what impact that had on my mother.

My life was falling apart before my eyes but I was too young to realize it, I would spend every day running around the neighborhood playing cops and robbers, ultimate hide and seek, and power rangers.

After my dad got out of prison I expected life to be the way it had been before, I expected family vacations and family dinners to be as great as they had been before.

Instead my dad started cheating on my mom in an effort to vent all his frustration surrounding the fact that he could no longer get a decent job because of his criminal record, and he could no longer work the hard labor jobs that he was able to before because his leg wouldn't allow it. In the meantime my mom was dealing with chemo therapy and surgeries to remove the breast cancer she already had, and prevent it from spreading.

But life got better, eventually my dad moved out, my mom was offered a good job that moved us to Seattle, and I thrived in school. The change of environment was what helped me move on; it was what I needed to become who I am today.

I feel like Gaia Moore and I have lived through similar events, not the same, but similar.

We both have had twisted father figures.

We both have had to adapt to different situations.

We both came out of it all unscathed.

But we also have our differences:

I earned my place as an FBI agent.

I wasn't handed anything due to who my family was.

I feel like I don't strut around the offices pretending to be better than the rest.

I don't get appointed head of a mission after only cracking _one_ case.

I don't feel _special_.

And did I mention something around the lines of I don't strut around pretending to be better than the rest?

But this is all the short version of it.

VISIT: FEARLESS37 . WEBS . COM


	12. Chapter 11 The Talk

**Ed was a little nervous, sad, and scared**. The emotions were all giving him a sinking feeling inside him, like a brick was sitting in the pit of his chest. He was sitting on the bench nearest to the entrance he knew Bailey was likely to come through, he wanted to see her, end it, and get as far away from her as possible.

It all sounded much too simple, he was looking forward to getting this over with as much as he had been dreading it. Ed had experienced the emotional breakdown of a broken heart before, his heart felt like it had been torn out and stepped on several times when Gaia was around… He felt an unbearable amount of guilt knowing that he was going to do the same to Bailey, knowing that she would be hurt. Ed looked around the park, anxious to see the approach of a dimpled blonde nearby…. He stared at his watch impatiently which read five minutes to six, Bailey was usually punctual and on time to any meeting or appointment she had which was making him wonder if she was coming. Then he thought better of it and realized that he doubted everything because he knew he was going to end it with Bailey and any little thing was making him extremely nervous.

Ed stood up and walked in circles for a couple of minutes, not sure of how to behave in this type of situation. He had only broken up with someone before once, that was Heather. But there was a difference, Heather knew it was coming and she wanted to end the awkward ongoing torture that their relationship had then become as much as he did. The fake smiles, the fake love they had pretended to be in was all something they eventually both wanted to end so Ed had ended it because he felt that Heather couldn't possibly go on with all the guilt she felt.

So now that Ed was the one doing the unexpected heart breaking he wasn't sure how to behave, should he seem upset? Or mad? He wasn't upset or mad; he just wanted to get it over and done with. Maybe he should stop walking in circles he thought, he was looking impatient. But then he realized that he was over all extremely nervous and it was showing, his impatient movements and his pacing was enough to make the bum sitting on the nearby bench nervous.

He looked up but he still didn't see Bailey on her way, so he decided to walk to the south entrance, there were men playing in the chess tables like always, it was already dusk so there were only about three games going on while those who were done watched instead of starting another round. Ed had to admit that while he always watched Gaia play and quickly become transfixed in the action of the game, he never really understood chess or cared to learn for it. He kept on walking back and forth between entrances, he watched as men started clearing up as the sun continued to head to east as it settled. He finally sat down to check his watch again; it was six o' five. He began to see that even though some people were leaving there were some men who didn't even look that poor like the bums, they were the types that Gaia would seek out in an effort to scare them away.

He began to think of the first time he saw Gaia fight; he had been awestruck with woe, admiration, and even more love for this aggressive creature that wanted anything _but_ love but in reality desperately needed it.

"Ed?" He looked up to see Bailey standing in front of him. He realized why she took so long; she had curled her hair and dressed up in a girly outfit that consisted of a short white skirt with a pink tank top. His guilt immediately increased by ten, he wasn't sure what to make of her effort to impress.

"Hey, Bailey," He said as he stood up.

"What's going on Ed?" Bailey asked him as she stepped to sit on the bench. He stared at her and his mouth started to dry because of how bad he was feeling.

"Well I wanted to talk to you," he managed to say.

"Well, then let's talk." Bailey said as she held a steady gaze.

Ed sat down next to her but not close, he didn't want her to get the wrong idea about what he was about to say to her.

"Bailey, we've been together for a long time, I think we've had a good relationship for the most part," Ed said, "In fact I think our relationship has been a healthy and very happy one. I love you very much but I think we both probably need to grow as people on our own before we consider taking our relationship at all any more serious. I also think that we should probably realize that even though we seem to get along so great maybe this isn't the type of relationship we're looking for, I mean, yes getting along great is a good thing in a relationship but sometimes people look for more you know? Sometimes people—"

"Ed, what are you getting to?" Bailey interrupted him. Her eyes were getting teary and she seemed to be getting pink from the neck up.

"I just—I don't want you to be upset—" He tried to say.

"Ed—just tell me whatever it is you want to say," Bailey said to him.

"Look, I really don't want to hurt you I just want you to be happy but I'm not sure if I can be the one to make you happy," He said. Bailey shifted her legs and looked around.

"Wow," she said as she removed a tear that had been slowly trailing down her cheek.

He started at her not sure of what to say, he wasn't sure how to respond to _wow_. Her eyes were both teary and her whole face was pink, he rarely saw people cry and knowing that he was the one causing the hurt was really upsetting him, he wasn't comfortable playing that role.

"Ed, but why? Was it the talk?" Bailey's voice was strong as she asked him.

"Look, in a way, I just want to be honest. I think the talk just made me realized that maybe we're not right for each other," He said.

"But how could you be saying that if it had been only that talk?" Bailey asked him, "It's not like I cheated on you—"

"Bailey you _already_ cheated on me," he pointed out.

"That was a _kiss_! I didn't really cheat it was—"

"Bailey if you don't think that kissing is cheating then—"

"No! I know Ed, I know it _is_ cheating, but I thought we were over that Ed," She said to him. "Does it still hurt you? Is that what this is about?"

"No!" Ed tried to explain, "_You're_ the one who brought it up, not me!

"Well then what's it about?" Bailey asked him as more tears trailed down her face.

"It's just—I don't feel the same way anymore," He muttered.

"Since when Ed?" Bailey seemed to yell rather than asked.

"Since… the talk, alright it was the talk!" He said.

"Well what about the talk made you realize that you _suddenly_ don't love me?" Bailey said as her voice trembled.

"The fact that you couldn't understand!" He yelled. Bailey's head fell to her hands as she cried and Ed realized how loud he had yelled when he noticed that everything was quiet, the men that had been at the chess tables were staring at him and even the bum at the nearby bench was staring at him with a disapproving look.

Ed's response made what he had been feeling real, Bailey's lack of understanding made him realize he wasn't as in love with her as he appeared to be.

"Bailey I'm sor—"

"Ed, just go," Bailey said as she kept crying.

"But—"

"You don't get it Ed! I tried to understand! I was trying to understand! But you didn't really bother to even put an effort into wanting me to understand!" She said to him.

"But you also didn't understand that I wasn't ready to talk about it, but you didn't accept that—"

"Ed, I'm sorry! You're right! I pushed you into telling me about her, but I just want us to be able to tell each other everything and _anything_, don't you feel the same way?" Bailey asked him.

"Yes, I do—"

"Well then let's just do that, let's just try and go back a few steps and attempt the whole thing again, if you don't want to talk about it then let's just not," Bailey said as she removed a few tears from her eyes.

Ed wasn't sure what to reply to her, "Well—I just need time, Bailey we should—"

"I'll give you all the time you need—I _want_ to make it work, I believe in us don't you?" Bailey pleaded, Ed didn't want to tell her the truth, the fact that he really didn't believe in their relationship.

"I—"

"Ed, please—don't tell me you're giving up on us, we have something good going for us, and we just had a little bump on the road, it shouldn't end like this or because of this little tiff," Bailey said as she stood up

Ed stared at her feeling exactly like he knew he would, like complete crap. He stared at Bailey as she cried her heart out; he wasn't sure what to do.

"I guess…"

"Ed, I'll give you all the time you need," Bailey said, she ran towards the south entrance. Ed just watched her go, he had seen her, he had tried to end it, and now it was time to get as much space possible between him and her…Even if it didn't turn out exactly like how he imagined it?

**Gaia had too much on her mind to think about, she hadn't been able to communicate with her dad in days, she hadn't been able to communicate with her mentor Agent Malloy since before she left Langley, and now Agent Elkins seemed to be the only one that she could communicate with but every time she answered his call he seemed to insist that she needed to change her character if she wanted to get any work done with this case**. She had just finished listening to his nonsense when she decided to go out and hit up her favorite donut place in the world, Krispy Kremes.

As she waited in line for her order of a dozen glazed good ones she thought of how many times she would look forward to coming here after school, she would rush to pick up a batch of donuts and then head to Washington Square Park to devour them.

Then thoughts of John started pouring into her head, the fact that he seemed to turn everyone against her, everyone at the bureau paid little attention to her remarks or ideas other than Elkins, everyone seemed to think that she was privileged, that she had smuggled into the FBI by her connections. That thought pissed her off, she worked her for her job and regardless, the _connections_ she had were part of her history, her life, her family. She wished that her uncle hadn't turned out to be the terrorist that he had turned out to be, she wished that her father hadn't in turn worked for the CIA, she wished that her mother didn't come from a Russian mafia family, and finally she wished she hadn't been born fearless. She wished she had been normal and grown up to be a waitress like she had always dreamed of, it was simple, nowadays you didn't even need to know how to multiply, and the register basically did everything for you.

"Here you are miss," The man behind the counter said as he laid out the bag containing her box of a dozen.

"Thank you," she said as she picked up the bag and left a dollar in the _tip_ jar. She had turned out to be a generous person, she thought, and after all slaving over donuts was a hard job, you always came across assholes that wanted the orders fast, and wanted their coffee scorching hot but then complained when it was too hot.

She stepped out of the shop and she waited until she was out of sight of the window before ripping the box open and grabbing a donut, yum, she thought, they were still warm. It was as she took her second deliciously sugary bite that she heard someone familiar, someone she recognized. She turned around and realized that she had just passed the South entrance to Washington Square Park; she knew she had heard a voice that sounded so familiar she felt a longing to hear it again. She stood there for a couple of seconds, unsure of what to do, she decided to take another bite from the donut as she thought this through, she had heard a man's voice, a voice she had often heard before countless times; Ed's.

She decided that it was better to be curious than to always wonder about what could've been, or what it had been. She took a final bite out of her donut and walked towards the entrance. Her stomach suddenly felt like butterflies, she felt her hopes and wishes get stronger as she approached the entrance, all the anticipation was building up—

But Gaia was pushed aside as a girl walked into her and rushed past her, the girl didn't even bother to say sorry or look back at her, she just rushed on.

Gaia turned into the entrance and saw the most beautiful glimpse of any person she had ever seen. It _was_ Ed.

He had turned away from her, he hadn't seen her, and he was walking out of the park with his head down. Gaia questioned herself, was it really him?

It _was_ him, she thought, her legs started sprinting towards him, he was only just outside the entrance she thought as she reached the exact spot he had been standing at.

He was walking fast with his head down and his hands tucked into his pockets, she wished he would turn around and see her, and even if he didn't turn around she wished she could just see his eyes a little closer. He was at least fifteen feet away from her, she wanted to get closer to him, but she could risk everything, she could risk having her blissful ignorance tell her that Ed _hadn't_ hung up on her, instead she could live on not knowing what was the real reason—rinnnnnnnggg!

Gaia hid behind the nearest tree in an effort to avoid capturing Ed's attention, she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and flipped it open; Perry.

Gaia clicked the 'end call' button; she pushed it until the phone turned off. She wasn't sure what to do, her heart was telling her to run to Ed, to ask him how he was, to hug him… Gaia wasn't afraid, her legs weren't frozen stiff because she was scared of rejection, what was holding Gaia back was the thought of losing all the great memories she had of Ed, of having the knowledge that Ed viewed her as one of those high school memories, something of the past. Gaia had held on to those memories and the hope of someday happily reuniting with Ed for four years, her livelihood had depended on that for all these years. Gaia wasn't about to ruin that, Gaia turned away from Ed and started walking back to her hotel room.

VISIT: FEARLESS37 . WEBS . COM


	13. Chapter 12: Sci Fi Movies

After the night that Jake died, I ran away.

It's the one thing that I always wanted to do but never did-I was supposed to be _fearless_, (now I'm something else entirely I guess) which means that I'm pretty much brave doesn't it? I don't have anything to fear therefore everything I do that another person wouldn't normally do is supposed to be… brave.

But that's not how I felt when I ran away, instead I felt ashamed and guilty, I felt like everything that had happened was my fault. Which even to this day that thought doesn't change I still believe that what happened to Jake was my fault. For such a long time even thinking Jake's name brought tears to my eyes. I felt weak.

G A I A

But if I was fearless why did I feel that way? I left not because I was running from someone or something in particular, I ran away because I felt like I had no control in my life, like everything and everyone that had anything to do with me was doomed to end up in some sort of tragic or horrible fate. Let's run down the list shall we:

The first person I ever lost was my mother, and she died because my uncle's evil persona killed her, then you can pretty much say that my father died right after that, he was gone for such a long time, no letters, phone calls, nothing.

Then Mary died, Ella died, Sam died for like a second, Heather went blind, Josh died, and then Jake. Jake cared about me, loved me, he was different. I remember my heart, my mind, my life shattering before my eyes as everyone I just mentioned flashed before me, seeing Jake die was an epiphany. I was a danger not just to myself but an even greater danger to those who got close to me. That's why I left.

Then I realized that the one person who had been a best friend, lover, and friend could be next, in fact my dad and him are the only two people I could trust 100% no questions asked. (Sometimes)

So I left. I wonder now what happened to Sam Moon, I wonder what happened to Heather Gannis, but most of all I wonder what happened to Ed Fargo.

But I had made the decision to leave them all behind; after I left I spent the next four months hitch hiking, sometimes when I had money I took the train. For the most part it was just walking, I wasn't going anywhere in particular I was just trying to find something to occupy myself with, see things I have never seen, to just find some sort of reality that wasn't my own. It was when I was in Philadelphia that my dad found me, he had tracked me down and he was there like he has never been before. We talked for so, so long.

Dad told me that I couldn't stop life just because of what happened, that no matter where on Earth I would travel, my memories would not disappear, what happened would not change. His wisdom helped me; he had made a couple college applications on my behalf. I remember when he told me I had smirked and scoffed at him, how on Earth did he ever think I could go to college after what I had been through? I remember responding to him like, "Really dad? _Really?_" I couldn't believe that after what my life has been he actually thought I was going to college-I had never imagined during those four months I spent on my own that my life would ever resemble that of a normal life from that point on. But my dad made it possible for me one more time, I went to college, I graduated, and now I have… a career. Something I didn't foresee. I literally thought my life would be like I had always thought I would be.

Waitressing, taking advantage of those that thought they were taking advantage of me-then shocking them when I beat them a blood pulp. But I should've learned by now that things _don't_ turn out the way I think they will.

**John** was having a serious pride issue-calling Gaia once was already a fail, he did it because he just got an amazing lead and according to protocol he should _really _call Gaia right now to fill her in on it and get back up. But she clearly just denied his call because it only rang once, then went to voicemail right after which meant she just very obviously refused to take his call-he was feeling this sinking disgusting feeling, he was forcing himself to call her. But he knew he didn't have time to hold a grudge and act like a child-he had followed Pablo Mancini for a few days now and his waiting had paid off. He had just caught Pablo sneaking off Karla Mancini from the location he and Gaia had previously checked, he needed her assistance now, he was following Pablo and being alone was dangerous.

"Moore." Gaia finally answered.

"Gaia, where are you?" He asked.

"I'm-uh going to my apartment, what's going on," Gaia asked him.

"I've been following Mancini, I finally caught him sneaking Karla from that small apartment we visited the other day, I'm driving slowly behind their car-but it be best if I had backup, they might notice me soon," He said, he saw them about four cars ahead of him.

"Where are you now?" Gaia asked.

"We're about to turn to Mancini's residence, so I know he's taking her there," He said as he turned.

"I'll be there in twenty."

John watched as the vehicle entered the alley of the street entering the garage, the next step would be to wait for Gaia to go in and have a talk with the two. He parked the car a block away from the alley where he had a clear view of the entrance of the building, Mancini's apartment was on a very tall brick building, at least twenty stories high-there could be a lot of secret entrances to his apartment from within the apartment. He turned down the air conditioner inside the car, opened the window just a little bit-it was strange that it was the end of September and yet New York still had days that went up to seventy degrees; back in Seattle it would have been chilly weather already. He watched as a few cars passed by the front of the building, all of them were different none of them had passed more than once yet. He scanned the street to see if he was the only on the block inside of a car, he looked like he was alone there was no one else on the street, he noticed a few people walking but they were in hurry-all three of the streetwalkers were wearing backpacks or suitcases and were walking at a fast pace.

He saw as Gaia arrived around the corner she was walking fast-her hair flying behind her even though there was hardly a breeze. She was wearing jeans and a simple blue white shirt, she was carrying a bag.

To: Gaia

From: John

I'm in the corner.

He watched as Gaia opened her phone and her gaze fell on his car, she quickly jogged over to him and he unlocked the car as she got closer.

"Want a donut?" Gaia asked him as soon as she sat down.

He stared at the bag she had in her hand, she took out a box full of donuts and opened the lid. "Sure."

"So what's the deal, you know for sure they're in there?" Gaia asked him.

"I'm pretty sure, no one has come out from the garage since I came, I don't know though if there are other exits on the other side of the alley, I haven't really been able to move since I got here," He said as he took a bite of the donut, it was fresh, warm, and delicious, the sugary goodness was invoking all of his taste buds.

They were silent for a few moments while the radio quietly played the latest hit by Maroon Five and the two of them enjoyed the donuts, he appreciated the gesture from Gaia's part to bring donuts on her way to meet him, he was still feeling that strong urge of resentment; it was heavy and it was sitting right in the middle of his chest, his head kept thinking about how much he disliked Gaia and how stuck up she had acted, but this sudden gesture to bring him delicious donuts was bugging him in a different way...

"I'm thinking maybe it be better to get some eyes in that place," Gaia said, she was staring up at the building.

"What do you mean?" He asked her, he eyed the building-getting in wouldn't be too hard-getting in to Mancini's apartment would be the trick.

"Well I was thinking…. We could patriot act our next move," Gaia smirked.

"You mean bug the place?" John asked.

"Yeah, Loki was an international terrorist, anything leading to the investigation of his death should be deemed a national security issue," Gaia said to him before she took another bite of her donut. John was feeling very skeptical about this idea-he wasn't sure if they were able to pull off bugging the place using the Patriot Act as a front.

"You don't seem convinced," Gaia asked him.

"Well if we don't get anything good it's very possible we'll get in serious trouble over this," He said, Gaia turned her gaze over to him from the street with a frown on her face.

"But odds are that we'll _very_ likely get some good stuff from it, it's taken us what is it now? It's been like a week since we actually talked to Mancini, this is the first time anything's happened, if you ask me—waiting will just be a waste of time, we need to do something John," Gaia said to him.

He looked at her and took a second to think about it, if this blew up in their face he would just blame it on Gaia's dumb ideas.

"Ok, what do we do next?"

**Pablo** had been burning holes into Catalina's bedroom door for the past few hours, he was sitting down in the living room staring down the hallway to her bedroom, they had arrived back at his apartment four hours ago and all he wanted to do was find out what exactly was going on. After the FBI had showed up at his doorstop in little Italy he decided that sneaking her out right away wasn't going to be a good idea so they both decided to wait. Since then Lina had barely said anything that sounded like what he wanted to hear, nothing credible, nothing that could help him understand what was going on. Pablo had hacked into some emails from the CIA which showed that they thought it was Karla who had been with Oliver, but they were wrong; Karla wasn't involved with anything that had to do with anything anymore.

Karla had decided that the life of crime was not for her, she didn't even speak to him or anyone else in the family—she was the one relative that he reluctantly couldn't speak to; because she wouldn't let him. No they were all wrong, it's easy to see why she would be the obvious choice, Karla was a strong opponent to Alejandro, and she was married but didn't have children, she didn't have much to lose. But what they didn't understand was that what really made Catalina more dangerous was that Catalina was invested in her family, the death of Katrina made her furious with rage; even Catalina never thought Alejandro would kill someone in his own family… The way that Pablo naively agreed with as well, Pablo knew that Katrina had been doing things she shouldn't have been doing but he never thought it would be anything enough to have Alejandro put a hit on her for. He hated thinking about what happened to Kat—that had been his twin sister and best friend, there were no words to describe what he felt when he heard of the news, when Lina had to call him to tell him that they had found her body washed up in the river. He closed his eyes as he felt the pain like it was yesterday… He hated thinking about it.

Catalina was working with Oliver, she was doing something with him and he wanted to know what it was. But even now that they were older, Catalina still treated him the way that she treated a little 10 year old brother, she was unwilling to tell him anything no matter what he said. She was the oldest, she was about eight years older than him and he knew that as soon as she stepped out that door she was going to start patronizing him about how he should always stay out of it, remind him about Katrina, and shut herself back into the room for another four hours.

He heard the door knob turning, and Lina came out, she was washed up, her hair was still damp from a recent shower.

"What are you still doing up? I told you to go to sleep early tonight," Lina frowned to him, her eyes narrowed and she gave him this dull look as her eyes locked on to his.

"Did you really expect me to go to bed?" He asked her.

"Yes, tomorrow I'm planning to leave, I need you to be well rested," She said.

"I'm fine, and I will be fine in the morning when we get up," He said to her.

She stared at him and started walking to down the opposite hallway.

"Where are you going?" He yelled after her.

"To the kitchen, I'm hungry," She yelled back. He stood up quickly after her, she was going to avoid him and he was going to avoid _that_ at all costs.

"Lina, you can't do this, you can't still treat me like I'm 12," He said.

"Pablo you _sound_ like you're 12! If I don't tell you things it is for your own good and protection, you can't get involved with what's going on," She said to him as she opened cabinets and took out spices.

"Okay, so let's go back seven days ago, if it weren't for me looking for you, you would probably still be in little Italy hiding out," He paused, she had stopped opening cabinets, "I don't need protecting from anyone, I am more than capable of taking care of myself and have been doing so just fine by myself."

"Pablo, there are things that have been happening that you don't know about, and it's best you stay not knowing about them," She was looking at him with her eyes narrowing down on him again, she wanted to be firm but he was not going to give up.

"So you're not going to tell me what you were doing with Loki, or why Gaia Moore is looking for you?" He said to her, he was starting to get angry.

She was just staring at him, she didn't look mad or upset instead she just kept looking at him and it was starting to irritate him, he already knew that she didn't want to tell him anything. But he really wasn't a child anymore; Catalina could not keep hiding information from him when he was more than capable of anything.

"You know you're right Pablo I'm going to tell you what I was doing with Oliver, and that's it, my future plans, my business, that's out." She said to him, she kept pulling out pasta packets from the cabinets and headed to the refrigerator. "Do you know anything about Gaia Moore?"

"Well… I know that she's an FBI agent now, the only reason that she's even showed up on my feed is because she's Loki's niece," He thought.

"Gaia is more than just Loki's niece, if anything Gaia has made Loki who he is," She was still rummaging in the refrigerator. "There is something exceptionally interesting about her; I remember meeting her when she was just a little girl. In the past there have been women that are like Gaia, they are exceptionally interesting because they are different, they are physically enhanced than other people. It's been a while since anyone was able to identify one so fast."

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Well… In the past there have been women that have an unmatched intelligence, photographic memory, physically stronger than the average steroid enhanced man, and the most interesting thing about them is that they are not easy to scare. In fact it is impossible to scare someone like them," Lina responded, "They can't feel fear."

"But that sounds like an experiment from a sci-fi movie," He said no he knew that Lina was playing with him; she was not going to tell him the truth.

"It does doesn't it?" No she was turning on the sink to rinse the chicken.

"So you're being straight with me, no joking around?" He asked her.

"Yes I am," She looked at him with a raised eyebrow and little grin, "You wanted to know what I was doing with Oliver right? Well that's part of it, when Oliver was… I guess you can say not his better self he noticed what others were noticing, that Gaia was not a normal little girl. There was a particular article that made the local news about Gaia, when she was little she was actually with a baby sitter who was about to get assaulted and Gaia defended her, she even managed to knock the guy out-she was only seven. That was the last time that she ever made the news."

"What do you mean?"

"Her father Tom became overly protective, he works for the CIA and was and still is well aware of what Gaia could possibly be," She answered him. "Ever since Gaia was little she has been more than normal, Oliver-then-Loki started training Gaia, he started enhancing her abilities in a way it's never been done before. Gaia has no idea under how much protection Loki had her under, many in the world were interested in her, and they wanted to use her for their own purposes. So Loki protected her for many years, until Gaia grew up and she could take care of herself from things that wanted her for all the wrong reasons."

"So… when you were with Oliver what were you doing?"

"It was one of many consultations, because our brother is interested in Gaia's abilities," She said, "Oliver wants to keep him away from her, and he was asking for my assistance when it comes to Alejandro."

"What do you mean?" He asked her.

Catalina took a deep breath, "What Alejandro has to do with it I'm not going to divulge in, but I will tell you that Oliver was close to meddling with Alejandro, and that's why he died."

"So, you're saying Alejandro killed him?" He asked her, this time she just looked at him with her lips pursing and her eye brows raised.

"That's all for tonight little brother."


End file.
